H A R P E R'S 



I^)\^-YORK CLASS-BOOK 



COMPRISING 



OUTLINES or THE GEOGRAPHY AND HISTORY OF NEAV YORK; 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES OF EMINENT INDIVIDUALS ; 

SKETCHES OF SCENERY AND NATURAL HISTORY; 

ACCOUNTS OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS, ETC. 



ARRANGED AS 



^ Heading-book for ©rljoob. 



BY WILLIAM RUSSELL,, 

PROFESSOR OF ELOCUTION, IN BROOKLYN FEMALE ACADEMV ; EDITOR OF TUE. 
"AMERICAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATION," (FIRST SERIES.) 



NEW YORK: 

jIARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

82 CLIFF STREET. 




. . \ 



Entered, accoiJing to Act of Congress, iu the yeai* one thousand 
eight hundred and forty-seveu, by 

Harper & Brothers, 

iu tlie Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District 
of New York. 






PREFACE. 



The following explanatory remarks are respectfully 
submitted to the attention of parents and teachers, and 
of individuals whose official duties are connected with 
education. 

The primary design of the present work, is, to furnish 
the youth of New York with a manual of reading lessons, 
embodying useful and interesting information regarding 
their native State. The subjects embraced in this volume, 
will, also, it is hoped, render it an entertaining and in- 
structive course of reading for young persons, throughout 
the Union. 

The time usually devoted, in schools, to exercises in 
reading, admits, in advanced classes, the introduction of 
various subjects, for which no separate assignment is made, 
in arranging the customary departments of instruction. 
The sphere of general knowledge may thus be enlarged, 
and taste and imagination cultivated, without encroach- 
ing on hours otherwise appropriated ; while a special 
opportunity is afforded for the immediate application 
of principles of elocution previously acquired, and the 
formation of a correct and appropriate style of reading, 
as a useful accomplishment. 

To secure these results, no expedient is more effectual 
than that of furnishing the proper materials for the prac- 
tice of the requisite exercises. These should combine a 
sufficient proportion of solid fact, for the exercise of the 
understanding, and for the application of distinctive 



IV PREFACE. 

emphasis, pausing, antl inflections, in the plain style 
of narration, clescription, and remark; while they are 
not left deficient in tojiics addressed to feeling and 
imagination, in forms of expression which call for the 
varying tones of sentiment and emotion. History, 
biography, and descriptive writing, in general, are the 
most appropriate sources from which instructive and 
interesting subjects for reading exercises can be de- 
rived. 

The contents of the following pages, have been 
selected in accordance with these views ; and the com- 
piler trusts that they lose nothing of their value by being 
drawn from local sources. They are thus invested with 
an additional attraction to young minds, and favor the 
acquisition of an animated and impressive style of read- 
ing; at the same time that they supply a want hitherto 
felt, as regards the useful intelligence which education 
should furnish, in relation to the scenes and associations 
of actual life. 

The author would, by no means, claim a paramount 
importance for subjects of only an immediate and re- 
strictive utility. A nari'ow feeling of exclusive prefer- 
ence for home scenes and mere local information, is no 
proper fruit of education. But an early and enlightened 
attachment to local associations, while it forms a distinc- 
tive basis of social character, in communities, is, in no 
respect, incompatible with that enlarged and liberal re- 
gard to national interests and relations, which should 
ever distinguish the citizens of the United States. Local 
preferences may be justly cherished, without incurring 
the faults of local prejudice ; and it would seem to be 
one of the proper offices of education to cultivate, in the 
young mind, a desire for knowledge on whatever sub- 
jects are likely to prove most useful or interesting, in 
years subsequent to the period of school instruction. 



PREFACE. V 

No part of general information can ultimately be more 
serviceable to any individual, than that which concerns 
the community of which he is, ere long, to become an 
active member ; and no scenes possess, for him, a truer 
interest than those in which he is to occupy the succes- 
sive periods of his life, in the pursuit of his daily duties. 

There can be, it is thought, but one opinion as to the 
importance of having all our youth well informed re- 
garding their native State ; and the form of a class-book, 
adapted to the exercise of reading, in schools, would 
seem to be the most convenient vehicle for such in- 
formation, which might, in this way, be furnished with- 
out overburdening teachers and pupils, by multiplying 
the branches of education, or making additions to the 
established routine of school instruction. 

The whole book, it is hoped, — while, by the instruc- 
tive and interesting character of its subjects, it may serve 
to cherish an early taste for knowledge, — will be found 
not less adapted, by variety of matter and style, to aid 
young persons in acquiring the invaluable habit of true 
and animated expression, in the exercise of reading 
aloud ; since a large part of the volume is, from the 
nature of its subjects, occupied with descriptions of in- 
teresting scenes and objects, narratives of striking events, 
and delineations of noble characters. 

How far the compiler has succeeded in the selection 
of topics, and in the requisite adaptation of expression to 
his subject, and to the minds of youthful readers, others 
will decide. His endeavor has been to furnish a volume 
substantially useful, and, at the same time, pleasing and 
aiti-active, — whether for the purpose of being read aloud, 
as a series of exercises, in practical elocution, or perused 
silently, for mental occupation, in leisure hours. 

The plan which has been adopted, in compiling the 
following pages,, comprises a concise view of the 



PREFACE. 



geography"^ of the state of New York; the narrative 
of its civil liistory ; hiograpMcal notices of its eminent 
puhlic characters; sketches of scenery and modes of 
living ; local outlines of natural history ; and accounts 
of public institutions. — The prominent features, only, of 
subjects so extensive, could be presented in a volume 
limited to the usual compass of a schoolbook. But care 
has been taken not to omit particulars important to 
elementary knowledge, or to the wants of the young 
mind. Selection has not always, in this respect, been 
found an easy task. The compiler's endeavor, however, 
has uniformly been to avoid an accumulation of unin- 
teresting and dry details, on the one hand, and the style 
of merely puerile amusement, on the other. 

To give unity and character to the v\^ork, and to adapt 
it to its special uses, the history has been written express- 
ly for the purposes in view in the present volume. But, 
to avoid sameness of style, in a book designed for a class 
reader, extracts presei"ving the language of various au- 
thors, have been freely interspersed. A similar course 
has been adopted, in preparing the other portions of the 
work. Variety of style has thus, it is hoped, been secured, 
in conjunction with exactness of information. To adapt 
both matter and expi'ession, however, to young readers, 
some omissions of detail, and some changes of phraseolo- 
gy, were necessarily made, in transferring materials to the 

* The author takes pleasure in refemug teachers, to Mather's 
Geography of New York, as a work well suited to the purposes of 
instraction, in this department. The book having been received, 
only within a few days, and after the body of our own work had 
passed through the press, it was not in our power to mention it more 
particulai'ly. But the care with which its subject has been investi- 
gated, and the thoroughly practical character of the whole work, 
Beem to render it a very desirable manual for instruction in chorog- 
raphy and topography, which are the true foundation of geographi- 
cal science, in relation to the actual purposes of life. 



PREFACE. Vll 

pages of the present volume. These modifications, how- 
ever, have been rendered as few as practicable ; and the 
compiler trusts that their design wall be fully understood 
by the writers to whose labors he stands indebted. 

The subjects comprehended in the following work, are, 
in themselves, so ample, that, to have compiled from them 
several volumes, rather than one, would have been the 
easier task of the two. But, for the purposes of educa- 
tion, and, particularly, for those of a reading-book, it 
seemed preferable to furnish a volume which, while it 
should not prove deficient in information, should serve 
rather as an incitement to farther application in the pur- 
suit of knowledge, than as a copious work for reference. 
Exactness as to facts, however, has, in all cases, been 
strictly regarded as indispensable in a volume like the 
present, designed as a source of correct information on 
subjects of moment. 

The extent and variety of actual knowledge, requisite 
to constitute the compiler of such a volume as the present, 
a personal authority, on all its topics, no individual, it is 
believed, can be reasonably expected to possess. All, 
however, that seemed practicable has been done to secure 
accuracy in every important statement, by particular in- 
quiry, or by recourse to the best sources and diligent col- 
lation. Much valuable aid has also been derived from 
individuals whose scientific labors and official duties have 
rendered thera competent to decide on the correctness of 
details, and who have taken a generous interest in the 
character and objects of the present work. 

The style of expression which has been necessarily 
adopted, as a standard, in compiling the following pages, 
is, — so far as could be done, in justice to subjects and 
facts, — graduated wdth a view to readers of the age usu- 
ally prevailing in the highest classes of schools. This 
circumstance will seiTe sufficiently, it is thought, to ex- 



VI 11 PREFACE. 

plain the modifications of language which have, it» „^...o' 
instances, been found necessary, in transferring passages 
from various works to the following pages. Such changes 
have, unavoidably, been, in some instances, too extensive 
to comport with the forms of expression being justly 
ascribed to the original authors. — The compiler would 
take this opportunity to express his full conviction that, 
whatever value his volume may be deemed to possess, is, 
so far as facts are concerned, due to the sources whence 
these are derived. He has therefore drawn freely from 
all that he could command; and the more so that the 
nature of this compilation, as a reading-book, permits a 
transfer of matter, without encroachment on the province 
of original writers. Many acknowledgments, on this score, 
are due to authors who have, with the utmost readiness, 
expressed their willingness to be thus laid under tribute 
to the common cause of education. To these the com- 
piler would return his best thanks for the personal favor 
so conferred. 

With these explanations, the author respectfully offers 
this volume as a contribution to the means of general edu- 
cation, — in the hope, also, that it may, in conjunction with 
other aids, subserve the purposes of that generous system 
of public instruction which distinguishes the state of New 
York. 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

PREFACE 3 

CONTENTS 9 

PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION 12 

GEOGRAPHY OF THE STATE 13 

Position and Boundaries 13 

Geographical Division 14-18 

Map delineating the boundaries of New Netherland, as claimed 

by the Dutch 20 

Original features of the country ; Sceneiy ; Vegetable Produc- 
tions 21 

Animals 22 

Map exhibiting the positions of the Indian nations ... 24 

HISTORY. 

Chap. I. Ai)origin.\l Period. 

Sec. I. Origin of the Indian Race 25-30 

Sec. II. Geographical position of the Indians of New 

Netherland 31-34 

Sec. III. Character and Habits of the Indians ... 35, 36 

Sec. IV. Indian Life 37-39 

Sec. V. Indian Warfare 40-42 

Sec. VI. Customs, superstitions, amusements . . . 42-46 

Sec. VII. Treatment of the Indians 47, 43 

Chap. II. Discovery and Exploration. 

Sec. I. Early Voyages 48-51 

Sec. II. Exploration of the river 52, 53 

Sec. III. Dtitch trading voyages. 1610-1620 . . . 53-57 

Sec. IV. The Dutch West-India company ... 58, 59 

Chap. III. New York, under the Dutch West-India company. 

Sec. L Administration of director Minuit. 1624-1C33 . 59-67 

Sec. II. Administrationcf director Van Twiller. 1633-1637 67-73 

Sec. in. Administration of director Kieft. 1638-1646. . 73-101 

Sec. IV. Early history of Albany 101-106 

Sec. V. Administration of director Stuyvesant. 1647-1664 106-111 

Chap. IV. New York, under the supremacy of England. 

Sec. I. Administrations of governors Nicolls, Lovelace, 

Colve, and Andros. 1664-1682 111-113 

Sec. II. Administration of governor Dongan. 1683-1688 . 113-121 

Sec. III. Administration of Leisler. 1688-1690 . . . 121-125 
Sec. IV. Administrations of governors Sloughter, Fletcher, 

and Bellamont. 1691-1702 125-132 

Sec. V. Administrations of lords Cornbury and Lovelace, and 

lieutenant-governors Ingoldsby and Beekman. 1702-1711 . 133-137 
A* 



X CONTENTS. 

HISTORY— continued. Fage 

Sec. VI. Administration of governor Hunter. 1711-1720 . 137-142 

. Sec. VII. Admmistration of governor Burnet. 1720-1728 . 142-147 

Sec. VIII. Governors Montgomerie and Cosby. 1728-1736 . 147-151 

Sec. IX. Lieutenant-governor Clarke. 1736-1743 . . 151-157 
Sec. X. Governors Clinton and Sir Danvers Osborn. 1743- 

1753 157-1C6 

Sec. XI. First administration of lieutenant-governor Delan- 

cey. 1753-1755 166-178 

Sec. XII. Administration of governor Hardy. 1755-1757 . 178-186 
Sec. XIII. Second adnunistration of lieutenant-governor De- 

lancey. 1757-1700 ......... 186-198 

Sec. XIV. Lieutenant-governor Golden, and governors Monck- 

ton and Moore. 1700-1769 199-205 

Sec. XV. Governors Dunmore and Try on. 1770-1774 . 205-213 

Chap. V. Period of the Revolution. 

Sec. r. Events of 1775 213-232 

Map of Lake Champiain and the surrounding region . . 218 

Sec. II. Events of 1776 232-219 

Map of the vicinity of the city of New York . . . 239 

Sec. III. Events of 1777 249-262 

Sec. IV. Events of 1778 and 1779 . . • . . 262-273 

Sec. V. Events of 1780 and 1781 273-281 

Sec. VI. Events of 1782 and 1783 281-286 

Chap. VI. Occurrences between the peace of 1783, and the 
WAR OF 1812. 

Sec. I. Events from 1784 to 1791 287-201 

Sec. II. Events from 1791 to 1795 291-293 

Sec. III. Events from 1795 to 1812 293-295 

Chap. VII. Period of the war of 1812. 

Sec. L Events of 1812 and 1813 295-298 

Sec. II. Events of 1814 . 298-302 

Chap. VIII. Events from 1814 to 1847. . 302-304 
BIOGRAPHY. 

Introductory Observations ■ . 305,306 

Captain Willet 307, 308 

Lion Gardiner 308-311 

Capt. John Underhill 311-314 

Lieutenant-governor Colden 315-.323 

Madame Schuyler 323-353 

Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson 354 

Hon. Philip Livingston 355 

Dr. Jacob Ogden 355, 356 

General Woodhuli 356-307 

Samson Occom 367 

Lewis Morris 368 

Philip Schuyler 369 

General Floyd . . ...... 370-372 

General James Clinton ........ 372, 373 

General Montgomery 374 

Governor George Clinton 375-377 

Stephen Sayre 377-379 

John Jay 379-381 

Hon. Egbert Benson 381-385 



CONTENTS. 



XI 



BlUGMAVny—cnntinued. 
Capt. Caleb Brewster 
Goiiverneur Morris 
Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge 
General Morgan Lewis 
Hon. Rufus King 
Alexander Hamilton 
General Armstrong . 
Colonel Burr 
Brockholst Livingston 
Dr. Macneven 
Dr. Samuel L. Mitchill 
Edward Livingston 
Thomas Addis Emmet 
Robert Fulton 
James Wadsworth 
Dr. Hosack 
De Witt Clinton 
Cadwallader D Colden 
Mrs. Frances P. Lupton 
Rev. Dr. John M. Mason 
Dr. Ad rain 
General Brown 
Jesse Buel 
William L. Stone . 
Robert C. Sands 
Henry Inman 
William Leggett 
Lucretia Davidson 
Willis Gaylord Clarke 
Margaret Davidson 

PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 

Modes of living in Albany 



Style of living among the wealthy landholders of Colonial New 
York 

NOTICES OF EARLY SETTLEMENTS, INLAND 
TOWNS, AND VILLAGES 

Migration and Settling . . 

SKETCHES OF SCENERY. 

The Hudson River 

Otsego Lake 

The Catskill Mountains 

Fall on the Kaaterskili 

Adirondac Pass 



LOCAL OUTLINES OF NATURAL HISTORY. 
Animals. 

Introductory Observations 

Reptiles 

Fishes 

Quadrupeds 

Birds 



APPENDIX. 

Institutions connected with education 
Constitution of the State 



386-389 
389-391 
392-397 
397-401 
401-404 
404-408 
408-412 
412-416 
41G 
417-419 
419-421 
421-425 
426-428 
428-431 
431-448 
448-450 
450-452 
453-456 

456, 457 

457, 458 
458-461 
461-465 
465-467 

467, 468 

468, 469 
470, 471 
472, 473 
473-482 
482, 483 
483-508 



509-^35 
535-546 



547-564 
564-574 



575-579 
580, 581 

582, 583 

583, 584 
585-588 



589 
590-594 
595-600 
600-618 
618-641 



643-647 
649-669 



PRINCIPLES OF ELOCUTION, 
APPLIED TO THE READING OF HISTORY. 



i^ The attention of teachers is respectfully solicited to the fol- 
lowing rules, as indispensable to the right performance of tho 
exercise of reading aloud, in classes. 

I. The proper style of readiug, in geographical description and his- 
torical narrative, requires attention, in the ^st place, to distinctness 
of utterance, without which the reader cannot be understood, or the 
facts be impressed upon tho mind. 

II. Distinctness of style in reading, depends on, 1st, due loudness 
of voice ; 2d, proper slowness of utterance ; 3d, exactness and energy 
in articulation; 4th, attentive observance of pauses, so as to regulate 
the sense of what is read, and renew the reader'' s supply of breath. 

III. The dignity and importance of historical and biographical sub- 
jects, forbid any approach to careless familiarity and negligence of 
style in pronunciation, and demand a becoming attention to propriety 
and refinement, as the standards of good usage. 

IV. The interest which naturally belongs to scenic description aiid 
historical narration, I'^quires, in reading, an animated, energetic, and 
varied style of expression, in the voice, and is quite incompatible with 
flatness and sameness of tone, unmeaning utterance, and " schoolboy" 
style. 

V. To read any passage well, the reader must himself understand 
tt fully, and enter into its spirit, that his reading may give the mean- 
ing and sentiment of the author, by appropriate emphasis, injltc- 
tions, and pauses. Hence the necessity that every lesson should be 
carefully studied, before it is read aloud. 

VI. It will be of great assistance in securing a correct style of read- 
ing, if the teacher adopts the practice of, every day, attracting the at- 
tention of his pupils to those words in the lesson of the following day, 
■which are most liable to be mispronounced. Such words may be either 
repeated orally, at the moment, or marked with a pencil.* 

* Teachers who wish to give their pupils the advantage of systematic and pro- 
gressive instruction in elocution, are referred to the author's Elementary and 
Common-School Series of Reading-books, or to his Orthophony and his American 
Elocutionist. 



NEW.YORK CLASS-BOOK. 



GEOGRAPHY . 

OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

Reading Lesson I. 

Position and Boundaries of the State. 

The o-eographical position of the state of New York, 
is defined, on the map, by the Atlantic ocean, and the 
states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, which bound it, 
on the south ; the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, 
and Vermont, on the east; the river St. Lawrence and 
lake Ontario, which separate it from Canada, on the 
north and northwest; the Niagara river, on the west; 
and lake Erie, on the west and northwest. Chatauque 
county, in the southwestern part of the state, has a por- 
tion of the state of Pennsylvania for its western boundary. 
The form of the state, as projected to the eye, is that 
of a rude triangle, with its base on the northwest, and 
its apex, or peak, at the southwest. If viewed from the 
eastern toward the western boundary, the delineation of 
the surface presents the shape of one side of an irregu- 
lar and broken pyramid, bisected. 

The state is situated between forty degrees, thirty 
minutes, and forty-five degrees of north latitude, and 
between five degrees, five minutes of east, and two de- 
grees, fifty-five minutes of west longitude, from the city 
of Washington. 

The area of the state is upwards of foKty-six thousand 
square miles, — nearly equal to that of all England. The 
state is divided into fifty-nine counties. The population 
of the state amounted, by the census of 1840, to two mil- 
lions, four hundred and twenty-eight thousand, nine hun- 
dred, and twenty-one. 



14 NEVV-VORK CI-ASS-BOOK.— LESSON II. 

The climate of New York, although the latitude of the 
state coincides with that of the warmer regions of Europe, 
corresponds, rather, in its mean annual temperature, with 
that of European countries lying from fifteen to twenty 
degrees farther north. The mean duration of winter, for 
the city of New York, is about five months. The warmth 
of the summer exceeds that of even the southern parts 
of Eui'ope. 

A broad view of the surface of the state of New York, 
as it would present itself to the eye of an observer, 
elevated to a suflScient height in the air, would coincide, 
most nearly, with that sketched by Dr. De Kay, in the 
preface to his copious and instructive Report on the 
zoology of the state. By the aid of the map and imagi- 
nation combined, his description is rendered remarkably 
clear aud impressive. It is, in substance, as follows. 

" The surface of New York is considerably elevated ; 
much of it lying on the great Alleghany table land. The 
diversity of surface is, however, so great, -that, for the 
purposes of more intelligible description, we may con- 
sider it as divided into four principal districts, — each 
suflBciently distinct in itself, but, of course, so much 
blended, at the lines of separation, as not to be contra- 
distinguished." 

Reading Lesson II. 

Geographical Division of the State. 

" Tlie Western District, the first of the four which have 
been mentioned, includes that portion of the state which 
is bounded, on the west and north, by lakes Erie and 
Ontario, and, on the south, by the boundary line sejja- 
rating it from the state of Pennsylvania. It extends 
eastwardly until it is lost in the valley of the Mohawk, 
on the north, and the mountainous part of the Hudson 
district. 

" A large portion of this district, is an elevated region, 
furrowed by valleys running in a north and south direc- 
tion ; supposed ©nee to have been the outlets of a great 
inland ocean, but now the beds of rivers, which, pursuing 
opposite courses, discharge themselves, on the one hand, 
through lake Ontario into the gulf of St. Lawrence, and, 
on the other, into the Delaware and Chesapeake bays, 
and into the gulf of Mexico. 



GEOGRAPHY. -NATURAL DIVISIONS. 15 

" The central portion of this district, is a level table 
land, rising, in its southern parts, into elevations of from a 
thousand to twelve hundred feet above tide, and abruptly 
subsiding, on its western borders; to the level of the great 

" In the western part, we have the Cataraugus and. 
Tonawanda streams, pouring into lake Erie and Niagara 
river; the sources of the Alleghany river, one of the 
branches of the Ohio, itself a tributary to the Mississippi ; 
and another branch of the Alleghany takes its rise from 
Chatauque lake, a sheet of water sixteen miles in length, 
twelve hundred and ninety-one feet above tide, and seven 
hundred and twenty-six above lake Erie. 

" Eastward of these, is the Genesee river, which, taking 
its rise in Pennsylvania, crosses the whole district, in a 
north direction, and empties into lake Ontario. As we 
proceed eastwardly, we cross successively, in the southern 
portions of this district, the Canisteo, Conhocton, Che- 
nango, and great western branch, or principal source, 
of the Susquehannah, which takes its rise in the Otsego 
lake, a sheet of water nine miles long, with a breadth 
varying from three quarters of a mile to three miles. 

" The central portions of this district, are occupied by 
a series of from ten to twelve lakes, stretching, generally, 
to north and south, varying from fifteen to thirty-eight 
miles, in length ; all discharging themselves, by one com- 
mon outlet, the Oswego river, into lake Ontario. 

" On the extreme eastern border, rises the Mohawk, a 
tributary of the Hudson, which connects it, zoologically, 
with the Hudson river district. — The great inland seas 
of Erie and Ontario, — the one, two hundred and seventy 
miles in length, with a breadth from twenty to fifty miles, 
and the other, one hundred and ninety miles, with an 
average breadth of forty miles, — exercise a great influ- 
ence on its climate and consequent zoological character. 
Lake Erie, the surface of which is three hundred and 
thirty-four feet above lake Ontario, discharges its waters, 
through the rapids and falls of Niagara river, into that 
lake, within a distance of thirty-six miles. 

" This entire district is exceedingly fertile, and is cov- 
ered by a vigorous growth of forest trees, in the unculti- 
vated portions. Without entering into undue details, it 
will be perceived, that, while, on the one hand, the vicin- 



16 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON III. 

ity of such large masses of water must meliorate its cli- 
mate ; its fertile soil, irrigated by so many streams, will 
furnish the means of subsistence to numerous species of 
animals. It is zoologicsClly connected, by its valleys and 
water courses, with the great basin of the St. Lawrence ; 
and we accordingly find, in this district, animals common 
to both, although not to so great an extent as in the region 
next to be described. Among the mammalia, we find 
the northern lynx, the deer, moose, and porcupine ; while 
all the lakes in the interior of this district, that empty into 
lake Ontario, formerly abounded with salmon, which found 
their way from the sea, through the gulf and river St. 
Lawrence. In its southern portions, it is similarly con- 
nected with the basin of the Mississippi ; and the inter- 
mediate regioiTS are watered by the streams which empty 
into the Delaware and Chesapeake." 

Reading Lesson III. 

Geographical Division of the State. 

" 2. The NortJicm District comprises, as its name im- 
ports, the northern portion of the state, which forms au 
irregular truncated triangle, bounded, on its western side, 
by lake Ontario and the river St. Lawrence, — on its east- 
ern side, by lake Champlain and lake George, — and lying 
north of the Mohawk valley. 

" This district, — in its southern and southeastern por- 
tions, — rises into numerous conical peaks and short ranges, 
attaining, in some places, an elevation of more than five 
thousand feet. Towards lakes Champlain and George, 
these subside, suddenly, to the level of those sheets of 
water. To the north and northwest, this elevation de- 
scends, by a gradual and almost imperceptible slope, 
towards the river St. Lawrence. This slope is watered 
by the Oswegatchie, the Moose, and Black rivers, and by 
the Raquet, Grass, and St. Regis rivers ; all arising from 
numerous lakes embosomed in the mountainous regions 
of its southern parts. 

" Lake Champlain, a part of its eastern boundary, ex- 
tends, north and south, one hundred and forty miles, is 
twelve miles wide, in its broadest part, and discharges its 
waters through the Sorel river into the St. Lawrence. 
Into the southern part of this lake are also poured the 



GEOGRAPHY-NATURAL DIVISIONS. 17 

waters of lake George, or Horicon, thirty-seven miles 
lor.o", and varying from one to seven miles in breadth. 

'°The cluster of mountains in its southeastern portions, 
may be considered as an offset frpm the great Appala- 
chian system, which, descending through the states of 
Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, passes southwest- 
wardly between the western and Hudson river districts, 
and is continued under the name of the Alleghany range 
of mountains. In this region, too, we find the Sacondaga, 
Cedar, Jessup, and other tributaries of the Hudson, within 
a short distance of those which pour into the St. Law- 
rence. , . - c 

" This mountainous region comprises the counties of 
Essex, Hamilton, Herkimer, and Warren, and the south- 
ern part of the counties of Clinton, Franklin, and St. 
Lawrence, and has been estimated to contain an area 
of about six thousand square miles. Its zoological 
character is strongly impressed by the features before 
described. 

" The chief growth of trees, in this district, are the 
spruce, pine, larch, balsam, fir and cedar. We find here 
many of the fur-bearing animals, such as the sable, the 
fisher, and the beaver. Here, too, roam the moose, the 
wolverine, and others now only found in high northern 
latitudes. This district also forms the southern limits of 
the migration of many arctic birds ; and we accordingly 
meet here with the Canada jay, and the spruce ^grouse, 
the swan, the raven, and the Arctic woodpecker." 

Reading Lesson IV. 

Geographical Division of the State. 

" 3. The Hudson Valley District, includes those coun- 
ties watered by the river Hudson and its tributaries. Its 
chief tributary, the Mohawk, after a course of about one 
hundred and forty miles, enters the Hudson, from the 
west, at the distance of one hundred and sixty miles from 
its entrance into the ocean, 

" The shape of this district is of course modified by the 
length and direction of the Mohawk river, and bears some 
resemblance to the letter rj inverted. Smaller than either 
of the two preceding, it is nevertheless of much zoologi- 
cal interest. At its upper portion, it is connected with 



18 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON V. 

the northern district, and contains many animals in com- 
mon with the states bordering on the eastern margin. 

" Along its western border, it becomes elevated into 
high ranges of mountains, called the Kaaterskills ; some 
of which attain an elevation of nearly four thousand feet; 
containing deei', wolves, panthers, and bears. By the 
valley of the Mohawk, it is zoologically connected with 
the western district ; and this connection is becoming 
daily more obvious, by the great artificial water channels 
which reflect so much honor on the zeal and enterprise 
of the inhabitants. Thus, the soft-shelled turtle and rock 
bass of lake Erie, are now found in the Hudson ; in the 
same way that the yellow perch, the muskallonghee, and 
others peculiar to the great lakes, have, by means of the 
Ohio canal, found their way into the Mississippi, through 
the Ohio. 

'' On the south, this district is connected with the At- 
lantic ; and, accordingly, we find it teeming with the in- 
habitants of the ocean. On the other hand, the Hudson 
river appears to form a natural geographical limit to the 
extension of some species, — at least in any considerable 
numbers. Thus, the opossum of the South rarely, if ever, 
outsteps this boundary ; among reptiles, the chain snake 
and brown swift ; and the buzzai'd and many other species, 
among the birds. From the north, also, this river appears 
to be a barrier to their progress south." 

Reading Lesson V. 

Geograjyhical Division of (lie State. 

" 4. TJie Atlantic District comprises Long Island, with 
a medium breadth of ten miles, extending in a north- 
easterly direction one hundred and fifty miles. Its insular 
position influences its climate ; and we accordingly find a 
great difference between its temperature and that of the 
main land. It is a low sandy region, with extensive 
plains, and rising, along its northern borders, into hills of 
moderate elevation, at but one point only exceeding three 
hundred feet in height. 

" Although much smaller than any of the preceding 
districts, yet it possesses some zoological features of 
interest. Its insular position, and its early settlement, 
have occasioned the extirpation of some of the larger i 



GEOGRArilV.-PRLMITIVE SCENERY, &c. 21. 

quadrupeds, such as the otter, wolf, and bear; but deer 
are still numerous. It is more remarkable for the abun- 
dance and variety of its birds, than for the number of its 
mammalia. Here we find the extreme southern limits of 
the migrations of the arctic species, and the northernmost 
termination of the wanderings of the birds of the torrid 
zone. Thus we find, in winter, in this district, the eider 
duck, the little white goose, the great cormorant, tlie auk, 
and many others from the arctic ocean. During the 
heats of summer, we meet with the turkey buzzard and 
swallow-tailed kite, the fork-tailed flycatcher from the 
tropical wilds of Guiana, and numerous others from the 
south. This region seems, also, to be the boundary 
between the fishes and other classes of the northern and 
tropical seas, and occasionally furnishes specimens from 
either extremity." 

Reading Lesson VI. 
Original Features of the Country. 

Boundaries claimed by the Dutch. — The voyage in which 
Hudson discovered and explored the river which bears 
his name, led him to visit the American coast, at various 
points between Penobscot bay and the Chesapeake. The 
Dutch, in whose service this voyage was undertaken, 
claimed, in virtue of the right of discovery and partial 
exploration, the whole region lying between cape Cod 
and Delaware bay. 

Scenery. — The majestic rivers and capacious bays of 
this extensive region, not only gave a character of mag- 
nificence to its scenery, but indicated its peculiar adapta- 
tion to the purposes of traffic, — a consideration of great 
moment in the estimation of a people so devoted to com- 
mercial pursuits as the Dutch. The aspect of the whole 
country, however, was that of an unbroken wilderness, 
covered with primeval forests. The coast was principally 
low and sandy ; and the distant interior apparently rocky 
and mountainous. But the intervening soil, along the 
river courses, was rich and loamy. 

Vegetable Productions. — The primitive vegetation, in 
its wild luxuriance, intimated the abundant fertility which 
might be expected to reward the diligent hand of cultiva- 
tion. The trees of the forest were of the noblest dimen- 



22 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON VI. 

sions ; the wild fruits of all sorts abundant ; the meadow 
and forest flowers bloomed in boundless profusion and 
variety. Medicinal herbs of rare virtue, but well known 
to the natives, in the cure of wounds and diseases, were 
the common and spontaneous productions of the soil. 

Animals. — Nor was animal life less abundant, or less 
varied in its forms, than vegetable nature. The forest 
and the i-iver banks were frequented by innumerable herds 
of buffaloes, elks, and deer. The beaver, the otter, and 
the raccoon were found, in multitudes, in their accustomed 
haunts. Nor were the fiercer races wanting, to call forth 
the vigilance and energy of man. The panther, the bear, 
the wild cat, the wolf, and the fox, with countless varieties 
of the smaller annoying tribes which infest the homestead, 
seemed almost to counterbalance the advantage arising 
from the abundant supply of game. 

The peculiar birds of this new I'egion, charmed the eye 
of the European visitants, by the unwonted beauty and 
splendor of their plumage. Besides the well-known eagle, 
the falcon, the raven, the turkey, the partridge, the quail, 
and the pigeon, were the less familiar forms of the gaudy 
American woodpeckers, and the hitherto unseen, diminu- 
tive figure and dazzling plumage of the humming bird, — 
the fairy of the feathered tribes. 

The waters teemed yet more abundantly than the earth 
and the air, with their appropriate tenants ; and the voy- 
agers, when visiting the rivers, regaled their appetites on 
the plenteous supplies of salmon, sturgeon, bass, shad, , 
carp, perch, pike, trout, and other fresh-water fish. The 
sea, with its sounds and bays, furnished them, in exhaust- 
less abundance, with shell-fish, among which were copious 
supplies of lobsters, oysters, clams, and turtles. Cod, 
halibut, mackerel, bass, and many other valuable kinds 
of fish, were found in shoals of vast extent. Waterfowl, 
too, were exceedingly numerous. Among these were 
swans, geese, ducks, teal, widgeons, and brant ; all cor- 
responding to the profusion of animal life in other forms, 
throughout the productive regions of New Netherlaud.* 

* The word Netherland, like the corresponding plu-ase, the Low 
Countries, referred, originally, to the regions on the nether or lower, part 
of the river Rhine, — including HoUand and Belgium. The phrases. 
High and Low Dutch, refer, distinctively, to the languages spoken in 
the countries on the higher and lower portions of the same river. 



HISTORY. 



CHAPTER 1,— ABORIGINAL PERIOD. 

SECTION I. — ORIGIN OF THE INDIAN RACE. 

Reading Lesson VII. 

. *Sources of information regarding the Indians. — The 
history of the races which originally inhabited the North 
American continent, is involved in much obscurity. In 
the region now designated as the state of New York, 
the plantations of European colonists, began, soon after 
the discovery of the country, to encroach rapidly on the 
homes and hunting-grounds of the natives; and the inter- 
course between the two races, was, so early, of a hostile 
character, that little opportunity was afforded to the curi- 
ous, or to the benevolent, for inquiries into the condition 
of the primitive tribes. 

Little has been preserved to our times, regarding the 
origin of the Indians, but their own dim and fabulous tra- 
ditions, imperfectly caught by resident ti'aders, busied 
with other pursuits than those of historical investigation; 
and of the enduring monuments, in the form of mounds 
and fortifications, which time has not wholly obliterated, 
uo satisfactory knowledge can be gleaned. 

Relics of the early races. — The state of New York, in 
common with other portions of the North American con- 
tinent, possesses many interesting but obscure traces of 
once powerful nations, which seem to have existed previ- 
ous to the savage tribes occupying the country, at the 
period of its discovery by Europeans. The ruins of ex- 

* Tlie italics, in this and similar instances, indicate the principal topics 
of every Section and every Reading Lesson, aild are intended to fur- 
aish tlie matter for oral questions by the teacher, when exainiuing his 
classes on the subject of the lessons. Thus, " What is said qt the 
lourccs of information regarding the Indians?^' &c. 

B 



26 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.— LK.^SON VIII. 

tinct cities and of military fortifications, the traces of agri- 
culture, and the remains of art, in several of its ornamental 
as well as its useful branches, — all of which have been 
brought to light, in various parts of the state, and exam- 
ined and commented on by men of learning and research, 
— bespeak the existence of a people entirely distinct from 
the savage roamers of the forest, who were found ^lere by 
our ancestors. Our museums furnish us with specimens 
of the relics of such a race ; and in the Albany Institute 
are preserved not a few of these interesting memorials of 
the far distant past. But such objects provoke, rather 
than gratify, the curiosity of the mind, regarding this 
period of obscurity. They resemble the davvnings and 
glimpses of thought in childhood, so justly described by 
the poet, as 

" fallings from us, — vanisliings." 

Traces nf enrh/ European visitors. — A similar strain of 
conjecture and fancy, is all that attends the contemplation 
of another class of our Ipcal antiquities, — the traces of 
eai'ly European visitors of whose wanderings we have no 
record ; but whose unquestionable vestiges, are still, at 
intervals, disinterred from our soil. So indistinct and un- 
satisfactory are these, that we can venture no farther than 
to pronounce such remains European, and not Asiatic or 
American, in their character. Armor, and other relics 
which cannot be mistaken, have been dug up, — all indi- 
cating early communications with America, which have; 
found no historian, and the objects of which are, to us, 
wrapped in mystery. 

Origin of the present Indian race. — Over the origin i 
even of the present Indian nations, a similar veil of un- 
certainty hangs. The question still remains undecided, 
whence sprang the warlike tribes which our fatheis found: 
on the shores of the new world. 

Reading Lesson VIII. 
Histories of the Five Nations.* — The chief sources of 

* The designation, "Five Nations," applies to the five tmited In- 
dian tribes, the M >havvks, the Oiieidns. the Senecns, th" On'mdavras. 
and the CiivuTas. To th-se the Tiis-arora frihe afterwiird-* joined - 
themselves. — Hence the subsequent designation of tbn wlaole ecu-,' 
federacy, as the " Six Nations." 



HISTORV.-THE INDIAN RACE. 27 

information respecting the original condition of the Indian 
races of the region now designated as the state of New 
York, are the early notices of French travellers and resi- 
dents, and the histoiy of the Five Nations by Dr. Cad- 
wallader Golden, who, for nearly half a century preceding 
the American revolution, filled several important public 
offices, under the British government, in the then colony 
of New York. 

" The work of Dr. Golden," — says the late Mr. W. L. 
Stone, in a paper communicated to the New- York His- 
torical Society, and published in the volume of their pro- 
ceedings for 1845, — " the work is valuable, although it 
comes down only to a very short period subsequent to the 
peace of Ryswick. The French travellers and historians 
had occupied this field of historical research, at a much 
earlier day. Doctor Golden availed himself of their labors, 
— particularly of those of Gharlevoix ;* and, having access 
to the archives of the colonial Indian commissioners, in 
regard to the Six Nations,! he was enabled not only to 
make his history of that great family of the Indian race 
more full, but also to correct many of the errors into 
which the French writers had fallen. Nevertheless, the 
Doctor relied chiefly upon the French, for the Indian 
speeches he has given in the text of his work ; which ac- 
counts for the fact, that these specimens of aboriginal elo- 
quence, are more florid than those which have generally 
been rendered by English interpreters. 

" Golden was a man of a benevolent spirit. He ad- 
mired the unsophisticated character and the genius of the 
Iroquois, and felt deeply for their wrongs. He wrote, 
therefore, with a somewhat partial pen. Yet his work 
has become a standard, and is justly considered authori- 
tative. Gertainly it is such as a record of facts. His In- 
troduction, giving an account of the form of government 
of the Six Nations, and of their religious manners, cus- 
toms, and laws, is highly interesting, and has scarcely 
been improved by subsequent writers. 

" It is a curious fact, that, in the organization of the 
government of the Aquanuschioni, at the time of the dis- 
covery, is found the very organization of the government 
of the United States. Each of the Five Nations was a 
distinct and independent republic, so far as its own par- 

♦ Pronounced, Sharlvwatr. t See foot-note on preceding page. 



28 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON IX. 

tlcular government and affairs were concerned ; but all 
matters affecting the wliole confederacy were discussed 
in a general central council, or congress, held as occasion 
required at Anondaga. Officers of every grade, sachems, 
or civil magistrates, and war-chiefs, acquired and held 
their places only by merit. They served always without 
compensation ; and bad conduct was invariably followed 
by disgrace and degradation. On one point, the Doctor 
is clearly in the wrong. He has adopted the French 
notion, that the confederates, — the Iroquois of the French, 
— were but recent occupants of the beautiful country in 
which they were found at the time of the discovery. But 
the evidence afforded by the traditions of the Iroquois 
themselves, proves, beyond doubt, that their residence 
had been long in the country in which they were found at 
the time of the discovery." 

David Cusick, an educated Tuscarora Indian, at- 
tempted to supply the deficiency of historical records 
regarding his countrymen, by publishing a work embody- 
ing some of the Indian traditions on that subject. But it 
is of so wild and fabulous a character, that it cannot be 
relied on, for anything authentic or satisfactory. 

An able summary of the history of the Six Nations, 
was given by governor De Witt Clinton, in a discourse 
pronounced before the New-York Historical Society, in 
the year 1811. A very valuable source of information 
on the aborigines of New York, is to be found in Dr. 
Adrian Van der Donck's Description of New Netherland, 
translated by Mr. Johnson of Brooklyn, and published by 
the New- York Historical Society. 

Reading Lesson IX. 

Bradford's researc7i.cs on Indian Antiquities. — Tlie most 
extensive woi'k of research, on the subject of the origin of 
the red races of this continent, is that of Mr. Alexander W, 
Bradford. " His investigations," says Mr. Stone, "have by 
no means been confined to the history of the United States, 
or to that of the northern division of the New World ; 
but the north and the south have been included, and the 
ruins of all been investigated, from the snow-huts of the 
Esquimaux to the palaces of the Incas. The work bears 
indubitable evidences of laborious and careful research ; 



HISTORY.— THE IXDIA.N KACE. 29 

and the I'esiilt is a faithful description of all the monu- 
ments yet discovered, which can throw the least light 
upon the history of the aboriginals of either continental 
division. In these descriptions are included the mounds, 
fortifications, relics of pottery, implements of warfare, and 
other ancient remains in the United States; — the pyramids, 
temples, sculptures, and hieroglyphics of Mexico, the 
ruins of Huexotla,* Palenque,t Copan, Mitlan, and other 
Mexican cities ; and the mounds, public roads, and aque- 
ducts of Peru, and other portions of America farther south. 
The results of the author's inquiries, everywhere bearing 
evidence of great accuracy, are summed up as follows : — 

*' 1. The thi'ee great groups of monumental antiquities 
in the United States, New Spain, and South America, in 
their style and character present indications of having 
proceeded from branches of the same human family. 

" 2. These nations were a rich, populous, civilized, and 
agricultural people ; constructed extensive cities, roads, 
aqueducts, fortifications, and temples ; were skilled in the 
arts of pottery, metallurgy, and sculpture ; had obtained 
an accurate knowledge of the science of astronomy ; were 
possessed of a national religion, subject to the salutary 
control of a definite system of laws ; and were associated 
under regular forms of government. 

" 3. From the uniformity of their physical appearance ; 
from the possession of relics of the art of hieroglyphic 
painting, from universal analogies in their language, tradi- 
tions, and methods of interring the dead ; and from the 
general prevalence of certain arbitrary customs, nearly 
all the aborigines appear to be of the same descent and 
origin ; — and the barbarous tribes are the broken, scat- 
tered and degraded remnants of society, originally more 
enlightened and cultivated. 

" 4. Two distinct ages may be pointed out in the his- 
tory of the civilized nations, — the first and most ancient 
subsisting, for a long and indeterminate period, in un- 
broken tranquillity, and marked, toward its close, by the 
signs of social decadence ; — the second, distinguished by 
national changes, the inroads of barbarous or semi-civilized 
tribes, the extinction or subjugation of the old, and the 
foundation of new, and more extensive, empires ; and 

" 5. The first seats of civilization were in Centi-al 
** Pronounced, Hooayhotla ; t Palainkay. 



30 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON X. 

America, whence population was cliffiised through both 
continents, from cape Horn to the Arctic ocean, 

" In relation to the question of their origin, 

" 1. The red race, under various modifications, may be 
traced physically into Etruria, Egypt, Madagascar, an- 
cient Scythia, Mongolia, China, Hindostan, Malaya, Poly- 
nesia, and America, and was a primitive and cultivated 
branch of the human family ; and 

'■ 2. The American aborigines are, more or less, con- 
nected with these several countries, by striking analogies 
in their arts, their customs, and traditions, their hiero- 
glyphical painting, their architecture and temple-building, 
their astronomical systems, and their superstitions, reli- 
gion, and theocratical governments. 

" His conclusions are, that all the various nations and 
tribes inhabiting America, at the period of the discovery, 
had the same origin, from the same primitive civilized 
source ; and that they came to America, probably, from 
the Indian archipelago, and across the islands of the Pa- 
cific ocean. From this last conclusion I have intimated 
my dissent. My own convictions are strong, that the ab- 
original race, — at least, of the northern division of the 
continent, and probably of the whole, — emigrated from 
northern Asia across Behring's Straits, or from northern 
Europe, or perhaps from both." 

Reading Lesson X. 

Additional sources of local information regarding the 
Indian tribes. — Mr. Stone's lives of Brant and Red Jacket, 
distinguished chiefs of the Iroquois confederacy, and the 
notices of Indian history in Mr. Campbell's Annals of 
Tryon County, together with Mr. Schoolcraft's Research- 
es, furnish many interesting particulars concerning those 
tribes of the primitive races of North America, which in- 
habited the region of New Netherland, at the time when 
it was discovered by Europeans. 

From these various sources we glean the materials of 
the following paragraphs. Some lover of antiquarian re- 
search, will, it is to be hoped, furnish, ere long, a com- 
plete and satisfactory work on this interesting subject. 
We would, in the meantime, earnestly recommend to our 
readers the perusal of such of the above-mentioned works 



HISTORY.— THE INDIAN RACE. 31 

as may, from time to time, become accessible to thera. 
To an American mind, the contents of these volumes form 
one of the most interesting portions of the romance of 
authentic history. We know of no way in which so much 
entertaining and, at the same time, useful knowledge may 
be acquired by young readers. 

For perusal, at leisure moments, we may mention, also, 
the vivid and beautiful sketches of Indian life, wrought 
into the exciting tales of Mr. Cooper, which, though tinged 
with the hue of romantic fiction, are true, in the main, to 
the spirit of history, and well fitted to incite the mind to 
farther reading on this interesting branch of our local 
history. 

SEC. 11.— GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION OF THE INDIANS OF NEW 
NETHERLAND. 

Earlij condition of the principal Indian tribes found in 
Nctc Netherhind. — The whole region visited by Hudson, 
was occupied by various tribes, which constituted branch- 
es of the great primitive race of the Algonquin Lenape. 
Along the eastern border of New Netherland, dwelt the 
Pequods and the Wampanoags, — afterwards so famed for 
their hostility to the Puritan settlers of New England and 
their descendants. The upper region of the Cohotatea, 
or North River, to the distance of seventy miles from the 
head of navigation, was occupied by the fierce tribe of 
the Mohawks, or Maquaas, as they were sometimes called. 
These held in subjection the suiTOunding tribes, on the 
western bank of the river. The Mahicanders, Mohegans, 
or River Indians, dwelt along the banks of the Hudson 
to its mouth ; their domain extending eastward to the 
Connecticut. The Montauks, or Matouacs, of Sewan- 
hacky, or Long Island, renowned among their contempo- 
raries, for their wailike character, were supreme in that re- 
gion, and held in dependence more than a dozen petty tribes. 

Subordinate tribes. — South of the Mohegans dwelt the 
Waraouckins on the east, and the Waranancongins on the 
west. The latter of these tribes subsequently acquired 
the name of Wappingi. The Wicquaeskeeks occupied 
a tract extending from the North to the East River, and 
lying along the banks of two tributary streams, called the 
Sintsinck and the Armonck. Immediately south of the 
Wicquaeskeeks, were the Manhattes, or Manhattans. 



32 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.-LESSON' XI. 

Manlmttan hland.— l:\^x?, name the Dutch settlers o-ave 
to the island winch was the chief scene of the national 
council-fires of that fierce tribe. The island of the Man- 
hattans IS now not unfrequently called New- York Island 
—a name which looks to the future rather than the past' 
and seems to anticipate the dav, probably not very dis- 
tant, when the wild scene of the council-fire and war- 
dance of the primitive sava-e, shall be universally covered- 
with the spacious streets, the busy marts, and the ele-ant 
abodes of civilized and poli.shed life. 

Imagination itself can now scarcely fig.ire, from the ^ 
level ed surface of modern New York, the varied scene 
of lull and dale, stream and fi.rest, which was presented 
to the eye of the Dutch trader, as he landed to communi- 
cate with the naked Indian, and to traffic with him for 
lurs, obtained from wild animals then frenuentina " 



spots which are now the haunts of beauty and fa:liion 
It seems easier, indeed, to anticipate the time when the 
whole island shall be but the site of the enlarged city of 
New York, the maritime queen of this western hemi- 
sphere, and the emporium of, perhaps, the larger sW 
of the commerce of the world. ^^'^er snaie 

Reading Lesson XI. 

The Hachingsach and Raritan tribes.— Th^ Hackincr 
sacks were a tribe dwelling on the western sicle of th°e 

STTro"'",''^"^^"^^"'^^ ^-'' betvveenM 
iatrer and the ocean shore, were the Rqrirpn« „4, 

^-nonal appellation yet regains, i. the rve^ndZ 
which bear their name This trik^ W ? c i ^ 
.ying tlie f^nile valle;-of ^::.^:^^^t;SnrN^^^^ 
Nor^h r[' "\''^" '""^^c ^^^« «^ '^- ^^--^ bay cff he 
St^en ^^ '"Tir:' Ra?-;'^'°°.' ^"' EghquLus,^or 
quently driven frinthe^rT"'' ^T'"^'' '^""'^ ^^^se- 
sequeifce of successive ^ T ^™"' P'^"^'-^ ^'^ ^""- 
which destroyed tw'ulS™'^ ^""^•^' """f"^"^^ '^^^T. 
and partly by incuZns .^f /l T'" ^^^?^^=^'"^« "^ ^^'ain. 
ware^and^Milsi Indies ctl Sb^yX^D^^^^rSanki ''■^^^■ 
a fierce and overbearing, race whir .7 if ,f"'' 

antiquity of origin, and V^Scripd e " T^ r ^? '"?'"^^' 
over their red brethren in genera ° ' ""^ Jominion 



HISTORY.— THE INDIAN RACE. 33 

The Delawares. — This haughty nation occupied the 
whole region bounded east and south by the Hudson 
River and the Atlantic, west by the ridge which parts 
the ti-ibutaries of the Delaware from those of the Susque- 
hannah and Chesapeake. Their northern boundary ex 
tended to the sources of the Schuylkill. The Kaaterskill^ 
mountains separated them from the Wappings and from 
the Minquas, — a Mohawk tribe of that region. 

The Delaware Indians, like all other savage tribes 
occupying regions of great extent, were subdivided into 
clans, each bearing a local name ; as the Assunpinks of 
Stony creek ; the Mingoes and others, about Wilming- 
ton ; and the Minnisinks, above the forks of the Dela- 
ware. 

Indian tribes of Long Island. — Some authors who have 
written on the early history of the Indians, consider the 
aborigines of Long Island as a branch of the great Dela- 
ware race. Others have controverted this opinion. The 
chief resorts of these islanders were the shores, where 
they could obtain the fish on which they principally sub- 
sisted, and the shells from which the sewan, or wampum, 
was made. This, most of our readers are aware, was 
the substitute used, both by the natives and the early 
colonists, for metallic currency. 

'Wampum. — The use of small shells of beautiful form 
and color, seems to have been commonly resorted to, by 
barbarous races, in all ages, and in all parts of the world, 
for the same purposes of convenience in traffic as the 
gold and silver money of civilized nations. The peculiar 
sort of currency used by the Indians, was, by them, called 
sewan, or, when collected into bands or belts, wampum. 
The former designation was retained by the Dutch ; the 
latter was commonly used by the English. It was not 
an original marine production, but a bead manufactui'ed, 
with much labor and skill, from the inner part of the 
conch and the muscle. The beads which were obtained 
from the former were small, roundish, smooth, and white ; 
those from the latter, bluish in color, oblong in shape, and 

* In the early part of our history, proper names sometimes occur in 
the Dutch orthography. This natural trait it was deemed proper to 
follow, as an appropriate portion of historical delineation. The re 
semblance of the Dutch to the English spelling, is usually sufficient to 
prevent mistakes as to location. 

B* 



34 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XI. 

about a third of an inch in length, resembling a portion, 
of a straw or a pipe-stem. Both sorts were perforated, 
so as to become capable of being strung, and woven 
into bands, or festooned into fanciful shapes, for orna- 
ment. 

The laborious mode of obtaining sewan, made it, of 
course, a commodity of great value, in the early traffic 
between the natives and the European voyagers and 
traders. So much were the former attached to the use 
of it, that they looked with contempt on the gold and 
silver coins of their visitants, or used them merely as 
personal ornaments. The coloi'ed glass beads introduced 
by Europeans, however, met with a better acceptance 
among the Indians, and, ere long, became substitutes for 
their own manufacture. 

The currency of the colonists themselves, for local 
purposes, seems to have continued long in this barbarous 
form. Six of the white, and three of the dark beads, were 
equivalent to a penny. We read that, in the year 1683, 
the schoolmaster in Flatbush was paid his salary in wheat, 
" wampum value," and received twelve styvers, in wam- 
pum, at every baptism, as compensation for providintr 
the requisite basin of water. In 1693, the ferriage from 
New York to Brooklyn, was eight styvers in wampum, 
or a silver twopence. ■ 

Wampum belts were used for personal ornaments, for 
presents, for tribute, for the ratification of treaties, 
for the expiation of murder, — for every purpose, in 
short, to which money has been applied, in any stage of 
society. 

Position of the Island tribes. — It is difficult to assign, 
with accuracy, the limits of the various subdivisions of 
the island tribes. The Canarisse occupied King's county, 
and parts of the adjacent I'egion. The Rockaways dwelt 
in the vicinity of the spot which still bears their name. 
The Marsapeagues occupied the country extending from 
Rockaway, through Queen's county, to Huntington ; the 
Mattinnecocks, that reaching from Flushing to Cowhar- 
bor ; the Manhassetts dwelt on Shelter island ; and the 
Montauks occupied the peninsula, the point of which 
retains their name. The Dutch usually styled the chief 
of the last-mentioned tribe sachem, or head chief, of Long 
Island. 



HISTORY.— THE INDIAN RACE. 85 

SEC. III.— CHARACTER AXD HABITS OF THE INDIANS. 
Reading Lesson XII. 

Personal appearance of tlie Indians. — To the eye of the 
first European visitants, the Indians presented a noble 
form and dignified mien, — an advantage for which they 
were indebted to their free mode of life. But this natural 
air of superiority, was counteracted by the absence of 
expression and intelligence in the countenance ; by the 
broad, flat features, high cheekbones, low forehead, 
sunken eyes, small nose, large mouth, and coarse hair, 
which seemed universally characteristic of the race. The 
habit, too, of eradicating the beard, and of smearing the 
face, and even the person, with thickly coated paint, 
tended to render them, personally, somewhat disgusting 
to European taste. 

Indian dress. — The scanty covering of skins and furs, 
to which the Indians were habituated, seemed a more 
natural accompaniment of savage life. But the gaudy 
decoration of their persons to which they accustomed 
themselves, on great occasions, was, in the estimation 
of Europeans, fantastic and puerile. Their winter cover- 
ing was usually a loose robe of furs ; their summer cos- 
tume amounted to no more than a scanty piece of skin, 
wrapped or tied round the waist. Children, in their early 
years, wore nothing in the form of clothing. Women wore, 
— in addition to an under-garment of dressed deer-skiu, 
fringed with wampum, — an outer robe, fastened by a 
girdle, and reaching from the waist below the knee. 

But after their traffic with the whites gave them access 
to woollen garments, both sexes usually adopted a mantle 
of coarse cloth, which they hung over the right shoulder. 
Their fine natural taste for appropriate color in costume, 
and their rude but rich style of decoration, often rendered 
the Indian, when thus equipped, a fitting study for the 
artist. The robe of the Indian became yet more con- 
venient, when it assumed the form of a blanket, useful at 
night as well as by day. 

The Indian's mode of life, which led him to traverse 
swamp and forest, rendered indispensable a covering for 
the legs and feet. The moccasons, or shoes, and the leg- 
gings which he wore, were usually made of dressed 
deerskin, tastefully ornamented. 



36 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XIIL 

The Indian style of wearing the hair was peculiar, and, 
usually, distinctive of the individual ; — some wearing it 
only on the crown of the head, some preferring to have it 
grow in the form of a ridge or mane, in one strip, from 
the brow to the neck, and to have this ridge cropped and 
erected into a crest, by the aid of bear's grease. 

The Indian women wore their hair bound, at the back 
of the head, in a club, shaped like a beaver's tail, over 
which they wore a square cap, decorated with wampum. 
Both sexes wore ornaments of feathers, shells, and plates 
of copper, suspended from the ears and the nose. The 
taste of the men inclined them often to appropriate the 
finery which the Europeans designed for the women. — 
An amusing instance of this nature is given in the work 
of an early French traveller, wlio tells of a Huron war- 
rior's plundering his bride of her wedding-dress, and 
parading in it with great pomp, before the French donors. 

The men prided themselves on their success in smear- 
ing themselves with the most hideous colors, when pre- 
paring for battle, and desirous of striking terror into the 
hearts of their enemies. In this process they were emi- 
nently successful, when, in subsequent times of war, they 
presented themselves, in such fiendish guise, to the terri- 
fied women and children of the whites. 

Reading Lesson XIII. 

Indian prowess. — The first impressions which the Euro- 
peans derived from the appearance and habits of the 
Indians, were, as might naturally be expected, false and 
exaggerated. The natives were, at first, thought to be as 
powerful in body as their aspect implied. But a nearer 
acquaintance proved them to be inferior to the European 
race, in muscular vigor and energy, although capable of 
endu7-ing privation and fatigue, to a wonderful extent. 
— This result they owed partly to. the experience of 
want, occasionally incident to savage life, and their ac- 
customed long fasts and vigils, with the use of bitter 
draughts, — a disciphne to which their stoic pride of en- 
durance, and their ambition of distinction, led them to 
submit, to a degree that appears to have bordered, some- 
times, on self-destruction. 

From such training, the Indian derived his noted habits 



HISTORY.— THE INDIAN RACE. 37 

of patient perseverance, in pursuit of game, on his long 
hunting excursions, and his fortitude in suffering the per- 
sonal tortures to which he was sure to be subjected, when 
he fell into the hands of a hostile tribe, in time of war. 
In the latter case, his glory was to die scoffing at the 
vain attempts of his enemies to cause him once to writhe 
or groan. To evince a feeling of pain, or even of grief, 
was, in his estimation, to degrade the character of a war- 
rior to that of a boy or a woman. At the stake itself, he 
chanted his death-sono-, as a prelude to the scene of tor- 
ment, and, in a spirit of sublime triumph, offered up his 
life, with all the solemnity and deliberation of an accepted, 
sacrifice, on the altar of war. 

With all his peculiar fortitude, however, in the hour 
of captivity, and in the act of sufliering an inevitable death, 
there was nothing noble, nothing human in his mode of 
warfare : he delighted to steal unperceived upon his 
enemy, and murder him, while yet asleep. His warfare 
was always, if practicable, one of extermination ; and he 
glutted his savage vengeance with the blood, of women 
and children. 

SEC. IV.— INDIAN LIFE. 

Indian modes of hunting. — The Indians were universally 
expert in the art of killing or securing game of all sorts, 
whether for the purpose of obtaining food or clothing 
from the animals which they hunted. Traps, nets, and 
snares, of various forms and ingenious contrivance, they 
used with wonderful skill and success, in the capture of 
the bear, and the beaver, and of the smaller tribes of 
animals which come under the designation of game. 

But the hunting excui'sions from which the Indian de- 
rived his chief annual supplies of food, to be dried and. 
stored against winter, were commenced after solemn cere- 
monies connected with abstinence and watching, and the 
careful observation of dreams. The hunt was, on these 
occasions, an expedition embracing the force of a whole 
tribe; and the mode of attacking the game was that, 
formerly pursued in Europe, of driving all the wild ani- 
mals of a given region into a central spot, where they 
were destroyed, in vast numbers, by spears, arrows, clubs, 
and other weapons, such as the skill of savage contrivers 
could furnish. 



38 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON XIV. 

After the chase was over, feasting, and formal songs 
and dances followed ; and these ceremonies were some- 
times renewed, on the return of the party to the homes of 
their tribe. 

Indian agriculture. — Labor, in any form, the Indian 
deemed a servile employment ; and, with the prejudices 
natural to the savage, regarding woman as inferior, he 
devolved on the sex not only the customary toils of the 
household, but those also of the field, or, rather, the gar- 
den ; for farming could hardly be said to exist among 
the Indian tribes. Maize, beans, and pumpkins, were 
the chief vegetable productions to which the natives de- 
voted their attention ; and these they cultivated in small 
spots favorable for the purpose, in the immediate vicinity 
of their wigwams. The grain which they did not wish 
immediately to use, was stored under ground, in holes 
lined with bark. When wanted, it was taken out, atid 
ground or bruised between stones. From the coarse 
meal thus obtained, they made cakes, and their favorite 
porridge, called sappaan.* 

Reading Lesson XIV, 

Indian dwellings. — The abodes of the Indian tribes 
were of the simplest and rudest structure. They were 
formed of hickory saplings stuck in the ground, and bent, 
at top, into an arch. This frame-work was covered with 
bark, save where an opening was left, in the central part, 
for the escape of the smoke of their fire. The size of 
their dwellings, varied, with the wealth of the owner, 
from that of a small hut to that of an ample house. 

Their furniture was limited to couches of rushes or of 
skins. Tables and chairs were, to them, unnecessary. 
Their domestic utensils were usually limited to a few 
pots and kettles ; wooden mortars and stone pestles, for 
pounding corn ; hollow shells, for spoons ; and flat ones, 
sharpened, for knives ; with stone hatchets. To these 
were added the paddles of their canoes, and the nets and 
other implements used in hunting, and the rude wooden 
spade with which the squaw dug the soil, in their limited 
style of gardening. The only decoration of the walls, 
consisted in the pipe and weapons of the warrior, festooned 
* Pronounced, sappawn. 



HISTORY.-THE INDIAN RACE. 39 

with the scalps taken in wai', from the heads of his ene- 
mies. 

Indian villages. — The aborigines of New Netherland, 
like other Indian tribes, dwelt, for the advantage of 
mutual security and aid, in little communities, each under 
its own chief. Their villages were at a distance of, some- 
times, twenty miles from each other, and were situated, 
usually, on the sunny side of a small but steep hill, sloping 
down to a lake or stream ; the common cornfield lying on 
the level between. The whole was enclosed by a strong 
stockade, to protect the inhabitants from surprise or at- 
tack ; as war was an event by no means rare among the 
Indian tribes of this region. 

The life of the Indians, though social, was migratory. 
In summei', they frequented the streams, lakes, and bays, 
for the facility of fishing. In winter, they frequented the 
forests, where they practised the chase, in pursuit of deer 
and other wild animals. 

Indian canoes. — The summer life of the Indian races, 
rendered them dependent, to a great extent, on the canoes 
in which they pursued their occupation of fishing. Im- 
perfect as were the resources of the natives, their canoes 
exhibited one of the chief triumphs of their skill and per- 
severance. Some of these vessels were fonned by burn- 
ing out the heart of massive logs, and afterwards finishing 
them with their rude stone hatchets. Others were neatly 
and compactly formed by stitching together, by means of 
withes and thongs, large pieces of the bark of the white 
birch-tree. In these slight fabrics, impelled by a broad 
paddle, the Indians glided, with amazing swiftness, over the 
surface of lake and stream. Some of their canoes would 
hold a dozen persons, and vast loads of grain, furs, or fish. 

Governmerit and laws. — The form of government uni- 
versally prevalent among the Indian nations of North 
America, combined the twofold character of an absolute 
monarchy, in time of war, and a republic, in time of peace. 
The affairs of the nation were managed by a council of 
the eldest and bravest of each tribe. But, in their war- 
like expeditions, they were under the sole irresponsible 
direction of their sachem, or war-chief, who was chosen 
from among the bravest, by universal suffrage, and who, 
although the office never was hereditary, usually held 
his post till death or old age, — when another election 



40 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XV. 

took place. The honor of holding the office was all the 
remuneration which an Indian chief received. Not only 
was there no compensation for service ; but custom im- 
posed on the sachem the necessity of giving away the 
spoils which he had taken, or which had been awarded 
to him, in war. 

SEC. v.— INDIAN WARFARE. 
Reading Lesson XV. 

Warlike life of the Indian races. — The habits of savage 
life, in all climates of a bracing temperature, incline to 
the condition of war, as the natural state of man, while 
subsisting by the chase. Of this fact the Indians of New 
Netherland were conspicuous examples. They lived in 
perpetual hostilities, caused either by the warlike ambition 
and traditional feuds of the great nations among them, or 
by the quarrels of subordinate tribes, and even of petty 
villages. 

Preliminary ceremonies. — The warlike expeditions of 
the Indians, were undertaken with great parade and for- 
mality. The head chief consecrated himself to his office 
by fasting, watching, and abstinence, and the use of bitter 
draughts, supposed to have the power of causing vivid 
dreams, or visions approaching to hallucination. The 
prophet, or priest, of the tribe, united the virtue of his 
incantations and divinations, to the vigils of the war-chief. 

Solemn assemblies were, meantime, held ; in the inter- 
vals of which the orators of the tribe harangued the war- 
riors on the glorious character and achievements of their 
own tribe, and poured contempt on their enemies. On 
these occasions, all the graphic incentives and sententious 
pith of Indian eloquence, were used to inflame the martial 
spirit of the tribe. A wampum belt was thrown down in 
the midst of the circle, which none but he who felt him- 
self entitled to hold the second place in command, dared 
to take up. 

. The war-feast. — As the day of the expedition drew 
near, the war-chief exchanged the sable coat of paint 
which he had hitherto worn, for one of varied color, on a 
ground of bright red. The caldron for the great war-feast, 
was now suspended over a huge fire, and received the 
contributions of all present, to the grand banquet. When 
the feast was over, the head chief sang his war-song, and 



HISTORY.— THE INDIAN RACE. 41 

was followed, in the act, by the principal warriors of the 
tribe. The war-song was a rhythmical chant, setting forth 
the exploits of the hero and his ancestors. The war-dance 
accompanied the. recital ; and the time of the whole 
movement was marked on a rude sort of drum. 

The eve of battle. — The night following the great war- 
feast, was devoted to the solemnities of arming and deco- 
rating the person of the warrior, and assuming his favorite 
emblems and colors. Their " manittous," or images of 
their guardian deities, were now deposited in a common 
box, and borne before the advancing host. The war- 
whoop of the tribe was raised, and repeated, at intervals, 
along the march; its fiendlike screech indicating the atro- 
cities which were to ensue. 

On approaching the enemies' country, the strictest 
silence succeeded, and was preserved till the moment of 
assault. The invaders, approaching with stealthy caution 
and noiseless tread, at length, with a simultaneous yell 
of their war-whoop, sprang upon their startled foes, and 
commenced the havoc of their merciless warfare. The 
attack ceased not but with the destruction or capture of 
the men, the massacre of the women and children, and 
the scalping of the dead, amid the burning and plunder- 
ing of the wigwams. 

Warlike implements. — The principal weapons of the 
Indians, were bows and arrows : the former, remarkably 
powerful and elastic ; the latter, headed with sharp stones, 
fastened to the stem with resinous cement. To these 
were added, — previous to the period when the natives be- 
came acquainted with European fire-arms, — a war-club, 
the head of which was formed principally of extremely 
hard and well sharpened stone ; a scalping-knife, of strong, 
shai-p shell ; and, more rarely, a wooden spear and shield, 
of the hardest soi't of wood, carefully seasoned, and yet 
farther hardened by fire. 

Indian triumph. — With the scalps of the slain, and the 
persons of their captives, the Indian victors returned 
home, in triumph ; exhibiting these trophies in the vil- 
lages of their allies, through which they passed. The un- 
fortunate prisoners were compelled, at every halt, to run 
i the gauntlet, and in some instances, reached the abode 
' of their enemies, barely alive, to undergo a yet more ex- 
cruciating torture. On these occasions, the women and 



42 NEW YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON XVL 

children vied with each other in inflicting the most atro- 
cious crueUies on the captives. 

Some of the prisoners, however, were, according to In- 
dian custom, adopted into the families of the victorious 
tribe, to replace the members who had fallen in battle ; 
and these were immediately received into the wigwams 
of those by whom they were adopted, provided with 
abundance of food, clothed with the richest attire, and 
uniformly treated with the utmost kindness. 

Death-scene at the stake. — The captive who found no 
one disposed to adopt him, was now subjected to all the 
horrors of the most painful form of death. These, how- 
ever, he bore with the characteristic fortitude of his race, 
and expired in the very act of singing his death-song, or 
of taunting his enemies with the number of their tribe 
who had fallen by his hand ; and mocking at the vain at- 
tempts of his torturers, to wring from him one groan of 
anguish. 

SEC. VL— NATIONAL CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS,— 

AMUSEMENTS. 

Reading Lesson XVI. 

Treaties of iicacc. — These were usually conducted with 
solemn public ceremonies. On such occasions, a deputa- 
tion of distinguished chiefs from the tribe which desired 
peace, went, in state, carrying the calumet, or great pipe 
of peace, — the hallowed emblem of truce, — everywhere 
respected among the Indians ; and, with the calumet, 
usually were carried the wampum belts designed as pres- 
ents, in reparation of injuries, or remuneration for losses, 
or intended to be used as marks of the different stipula- 
tions proposed in the act of forming a treaty. 

The orator of the suppliant tribe, was received at a 
great national council, where he proposed terms, and 
urged their acceptance ; depositing, at each proposal, a 
belt of wampum. If these offerings were accepted by 
the opposite party, similar returns were made ; and the 
interchange of presents denoted the ratification of the 
treaty, which was consummated by a solemn public act 
of burying the hatchet, in token of peaceful intentions. 

Religion oj" the Indian tribes. — The ideas entertained; 
by the Indians, on the subject of religion, were exceed- 
ingly crude and absurd, as well as grossly material, in ' 



HISTORY.— THE INDIAN RACE. 43 

heir character. The representations, indeed, of the 
3ar]y French writers on America, would lead to a very 
JiH'erent conclusion. They seem to have regarded the 
[ndians as actuated by a deep and intelligent feeling of 
latural piety, as recognizing a purely spiritual god, the 
creator of all things, whom they designated by the appel- 
lation of the Great Spirit. 

Such impressions, however, W'ere derived from the 
maginations of European observers, little versed in the 
ictual habits of the aborigines, beyond the customary 
ntercourse of civilized men with savages, and incapable, 
berefore, of forming or communicating correct ideas of 
^'hat they saw. Subsequent travellers, visiting the Indian 
ribes, and carrying with them the impressions already 
bjmed, were iiaturally led to cherish and perpetuate the 
erroneous representations of their predecessors. An ex- 
ensive currency was thus given to such errors. 

Indian notions of deity. — l"he actual faith and worship of 
he India,ns, were of the lowest character. The supreme 
Being they regarded as indifferent to the woi'ld which he 
lad created, and inaccessible to the mind of man. But 
^'hen sick, or unsuccessful in war and hunting, they used 
jvery expedient which their ingenuity could suggest, to 
>acify and propitiate the author of Evil. Hence their 
lumerous ceremonies and sacrifices, in homage to a malig- 
lant rather than a benevolent Power. 

'■'■ Powoiiiy — One of their national rites, of the descrip- 
ion just mentioned, v.'as that which bore the name of the 
' powow." This was a sort of gi'otesque incantation, 
performed at sunset, and consisted of a series of simulta- 
leous jumpings, contortions, and grimaces, accompanied 
jy the most hideous bellowing, around large fires, which, 
vhether they served to chase away the dreaded Evil One 
)r not, displayed, in the most striking manner, all the 
jreternatural horrors of the scene, while every performer 
leemed to vie with his fellows, in uncouth postures, tum- 
bling and rolling, in every variety of style that a savage 
ancy could suggest. 

An omen of their success was drawn from the first ani- 
mal that pi-esented itself, at the close of the scene. This 
mimal was believed to be endowed with supernatural 
30wcr, for the purpose of responding to their interroga- 
ions, and, if ravenous, was supposed to indicate evil; if 



44 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XVII. .1 

harmless, to betoken good. The presence of a European, 
on such occasions, was avoided, as fatal to the effect of 
the powovv. 

Belief in " manittousr — The absence of a superintending^ 
deity the Indian made up for, by his belief in the innu- 
merable manittous, or guai-dian demons, whom he be- 
lieved to preside over the elements, and over every crea- 
ture possessed of life. 'Each individual had his manittou, 
who protected him, from the moment of his birth to that 
of his death. The image of this manittou, carved in the 
shape of a human head, was worn around the neck, as a 
protection from evil, when the Indian was abroad, or oc- 
cupied in his customary pursuits. In war, the manittous 
of the whole host were, as was mentioned before, gathered 
into one coffer, and borne before the army, on its march. 
At night, they were intiusted with the protection of the 
camp. 

Reading Lesson XVII. 

Indian notions of immortalitij. — Rude as the ideas of the 
Indian were, regarding the being of a god, they were of 
a much higher order, in relation to the nature and destina- 
tion of the soul. The spirituality of the soul was dis- 
tinctly recognized, in the Indian's faith, as was also the 
doctrine of retribution. The souls of the good and brave 
were thought to depart to a scene of bliss, where a genial 
clime and a prolific soil afforded perpetual enjoyment ; 
while those of the vile and the cowardly went to a region 
of disquiet and misery, or wandered about, moaning in. 
the night winds, and howling in the depths of the forest. 

Indian mode of burial. — The regard paid by the Indians 
to the interment of their dead, was a remarkable point in i 
their customs. The body of a deceased warrior lay in 
state, for several days, decorated with all its festive equip- 
ments, and, honored by the lamentations of his family. 
It was then interred in a sitting attitude, to be ready for 
a speedy resurrection. The accustomed implements of 
the hero were placed around him, and, near to these, 
utensils and food, for his long journey to the spirit land. 
A rude notion of the resurrection of the body, mingled 
with their ideas of a future life. 

The body of the deceased was protected from injury, 
by piles of wood, baik, or stone, which were enclosed 



HISTORY.— THE INDIAN RACE. 45 

within a pali.sade. The burial-ground was, in the estima- 
:ion of the Indian, a hallowed place. It was visited, at 
ntervals, by the relations of the deceased, who there re- 
lewed their lamentations for his death. The Indian 
tvidow, sometimes, would stain her face, shave off her 
:iair, and burn it on the grave of her departed husband. 

Indian coamogony. — The notions which the Indian 
;ribes entertained regarding the creation of the world, 
were grotesque, in the extreme. A female, they ima- 
gined, fell from heaven, and, taking her stand on the back 
-){ a tortoise, scraped up and fashioned the earth, from the 
Dottom of the great deep. Subsequently, she gave birth 
;o all the tribes of animated nature, and, at last, retui'ned 
;o her native heaven. 

Indian " medicine-rnen." — Sunk in ignorance and super- 
itition, the Indian races were subjected to all manner of 
mposition and delusion, at the hands of their " medicine- 
nen," — as they called those by whose cunning and jug- 
glery they were habitually influenced. These sorcerers 
asually presided at their povvows, expounded dreams, 
ind practised medicine and surgery. Their modes of 
:ure were, for the most part, the administering of bever- 
iges obtained from the leaves, twigs, and roots of various 
Dlants ; the application of balsams and cautery ; and the 
jse of alternate vapor and water baths. 

When such means failed to effect a cure, the medicine- 
nan resorted to sorcery, as the only means of counteract- 
ng the malignant demon of disease. He invoked, with 
wild cries, accompanied by grotesque dancing, the aid 
^f his manittou ; and, at length, as if he had discovered 
;he seat of the disease, rushed upon his patient, tore the 
3ody of his victim with his teeth, and pretended thus to 
extract the malady. If the disease continued obstinate, 
■nany other hideous devices, resembling, not a little, the 
illeged practices of witchcraft, were put in force ; such 
IS surrounding the sufferer with images wearing frightful 
masks, to scare away the spirit of disease, or setting up an 
mage to personify the ailment, and piercing it with an 
irrow or dart, so as to destroy the malignant power. 

Reading Lesson XVIII. 
Indian amusements. — In times of peace, and of relaxa- 
ion from the toils of the chase, the Indians recreated 



46 NEW YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSOX XVIII. 

themselves with social singing and dancing. The former 
exercise consisted, on such occasions, in chanting, in rude 
style, the might of the bear or other animal which the 
reciter had slain. The dancing was then either the calu- 
met or peace dance, the dance after the chase, the corn- 
dance, at harvest home, the marriage-dance, or a mystic 
dance, resembling, somewhat, that before described, which 
was designed to propitiate the spirit of Evil. The last- 
mentioned was an exercise of the most degrading and 
disgusting character, and was led by their medicine- 
men. 

The aborigines seem to have practised, among their 
social recreations, a sort of cainival, or time of universal 
riot and unbounded extravagance. This license contin- 
ued for fifteen days ; and, during this time, the sole ob- 
ject of each individual seemed to be the wildest violation > 
of the usual gravity and decorum of Indian life. The 
revellers ran about disguised, playing every sort of mad 
prank upon one another, even to the destruction of furni- 
ture and implements, and throwing water, ashes, or dirt 
at whatever individual did not furnish an agreeable inter- 
pretation to a pretended dream of the inten-ogator. These 
Indian saturnalia seem to have resembled those of the > 
European world, in the olden-time carnival sport of 
" read me my riddle !" 

Decorum was restored, after these extravagances, by a \ 
regulated public feast, at which due compensation for all 5 
damage done to individuals, was carefully made. 

Gaming. — One of the customary amusements of the 
Indian people, was gaming, which their deep and intense 
passions rendered irresistibly attractive to them ; and 
which they regarded as, in a measure, a solemn cere- 
mony, to be preceded by devotional fasting, and the in- 
terpretation of dreams. A favorite form of play, among 
them, was, " the game of the bones," which was played 
somewhat in the manner of dice ; the bones being thrf)wn 
up in the air, and the position in which they fell deciding 
the progress of the game. Like the gamesters of more 
polished nations, the Indian devotees to this destructive 
practice, frequently cast their whole property on the 
hazard of the game, and lost it, and, sometimes, even 
pledged the earnings of a whole future season of the 
chase. 



HISTORY.— THE IXDIAN RACE. 47 

SEC. VII.— TREATMENT OF THE INDIANS. 

Influence of the whites on the Indian race. — The original 
jharacter atid condition of the natives of New Netherland, 
lave undergone a vast change, in consequence of their 
:ommunication with Europeans. The selfish eagerness 
)f the whites to acquire territory, led them to displace the 
iborigines, without a thought of the fatal consequences 
;o the red men. The unreflectino^ savasres were induced 
;o sell their land, in exchange for clothing, weapons, and 
oys of little value ; and the bargain was not unfrequently 
Iriven while the poor Indian was staggering under the 
ntoxicating liquor administered by the European. Tract 
ifter tract was thus purchased by the one party, and re- 
inquis'hed by the other. Nor has the Indian even yet 
bund " rest for the sole of his foot." Another and anoth- 
ir treaty is made, at short intervals ; and the red man 
:ontinues to recede, till imagination can foresee no end 
o the process, but in the extinction of the unfoi'tunate 
ace. 

The policy which is now pursued, in negotiating with 
he Indian tribes, is, it is true, more just and humane thau 
ibrmerly ; and the state of New York yet preserves, with- 
in the bosom of her territory, the living evidences of her 
comparative kindness in the treatment of the red men. 
But the temptation to become possessed of their domain. 
Is still too strong for the sense of justice in the mind of 
;he " speculator," whose eye is fixed only on gain, and 
kvho seems never to have heard the Divine precept, 
' Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do 
y^e even so unto them," The legislature of our state, is, 
ive believe, prepared to check every encroachment on the 
rights of the fallen race, and' to evince that New York is 
sntitled in this, as in all her other relations, to wear her 
suggestive 7iiotto,*so characteristic of the spiiit of the state. 

Private philanthropy is now cooperating with public 
justice, to meliorate the condition of the Indian. Teach- 
ers, and missionaries, and mechanics, are now uniting 
;heir endeavors, in the spiiit of christian zeal, to enlighten 
md civilize and save the remnant of the Indian race, in 
;hi-^, as in othei- states of the Union ; and their success has, 
;if lato years, been such as to encourage the best hopes 
jf every philanthropic heart, 

* " Excelsior .'" — higher. 



48 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XIX. 

The general government of our country has taken a 
decisive step towards improving the condition of the In- 
dians, in the fact of its discouraging the introduction of 
ardent spirits among them, as an article of traffic, and in 
various other measures which it has adopted for the pur- 
pose of securing the otherwise defenceless Indian from 
falling a prey to the cupidity of unprincipled traders, or 
of his own weakness and ignorance. 

The diligent efforts of piety and philanthropy, are thus 
effectually seconded ; and the result cannot fail of accom- 
plishing immense and permanent good for the natives. 
The demon of rum once expelled from their borders, and 
the blessing of a permanent home secured to them, the 
useful arts introduced among them, and the spirit of in- 
dustry infused into tiieir habits by the benign influence 
of-christianity, the Indian tribes will have a new career 
opened to them, in which to prove themselves men " of 
one blood" with those who are now exclusively invested 
with the higfh advantaa:es of civilization. 



CHAP. II.— DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION. 

SEC. I.— EARLY VOYAGES TO NORTH AMERICA. 

Reading Lesson XIX. 

English claims to 'North America. — We proceed to 
offer to our readers an outline of the principal events 
which are recorded in the history of New York, from , 
the date of its discovery and exploration, to the present .J 
era. The plan of our work limits our histoincal sketch to 1 
prominent features only ; and we shall feel satisfied if 
the matter which we present in this part of the Class- 
Book, shall have the effect of leading our readers to con- 
sult, for themselves, whatever volumes on this subject, 
may fall into their hands, in the course of their reading.* 

* It is earnestly to be hoped, by all who are interested in educa- 
tion, that an extensive and complete history of New York, for adult 
readers, may, ere long, be published. Mr. O'Callaghan's excellent 
volume is, we trust, the commencement of such a work. 



HISTORY.— 1407. 49 

The history of any portion of the westei-n continent, 
refers us to the national custom, formerly current in 
Europe, of claiming possession of newly discovered coun- 
tries, in virtue of what was termed the right of discovery. 
The subjects of any European power, who happened to 
be the first christian visitants of any I'egion not occupied 
by civilized nations, claimed, in virtue of that circum- 
stance, the exclusive light to the actual possession, or, at 
all events, to the privilege of pre-emption, or first pur- 
chase, of the country which they discovered. This prac- 
tice, absurd though it was, had obtained a consent so 
general as to give it, in the minds of men who lived at the 
period of tlie discovery of this continent by Columbus, a 
sanction invested with all the sacredness of justice. 

The English nation, acting under the influence of the 
custom then prevalent, asserted a right, on this ground, to 
he whole northern portion of the American continent, 
Decause it had been discovered, though not explored, by 
lohn and Sebastian Cabot, during the voyage which they 
nade to the western hemisphere, under the patronage of 
Henry, the Seventh, of England, in 1497-98. 

Verrazano* — The bay of New York, however, was first 
I'isited in the year 1524, by Verrazano, a Florentine navi- 
ifator, in the service of the French sovereign, Francis the 
First, an ardent patron of science and art. Of this voyage 
t'^errazano's own account is extant. The French mon- 
irch, however, seems to have been content with the glory 
iccruing from the patronage of a voyage of discovery ; 
or no steps were taken by him or his subjects, to secure 
possession of the region then visited on behalf of the 
?"rench crown. 

Hudson'' s Voyage, undertaken for tlie Amsterdam Com- 
oany. — The states of Holland, when they threw off their 
lubjection to the Spanish rule, lost, of course, the com- 
nercial benefits resulting from their connection with that 
)ower; and they now prosecuted, with great spirit, ex- 
ensive voyages of discovery and exploration, with a view 
() replace the advantages which they previously derived 
rom their extensive commerce, not only with Spain and 
ts colonies, but with all othef parts of the German empire, 
IS it existed under Charrles the Fifth. Among the proj- 

• Pronounced, Verratsdno ; — the accented a sounding as in the 
vord arm. 

c 



)0 



NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XLX. 



ects then attempted for these purposes, was that of ex- 
ploring a northern passage to India. 

Repeated failures in such attempts, did not discourage 
Henry Hudson, an English mariner, from offering his 
services to the Dutch East-India company, for yet another 
voyage with the same object in view. The Amsterdam 
chamber of commerce accepted his proposals, and pro- 
vided him with a small vessel, rigged somewhat like a 
large wherry, or fly-boat, a favorite style of naval archi- 
tectui'e with the Dutch. This diminutive but somewhat 
clumsy " rover of the deep," was named the Half-Moon, 
and was manned with a crew, partly English and partly 
Dutch, amounting to nearly twenty men. 




The Half-Moon. 
[Drawn from the model which has been preserved.] 

Hudson sailed from Amsterdam, early in the month of 
April, 1609 ; and, baffled by ice and fogs, yet unwilling to 
relinquish his enterprise, he'boldly attempted the discovery 
of a northwest passage. That he should have failed of 
accomplishing what the united science, skill, and daring of 
British navigators, — furnished with the ample means °and 
the immense resources of England, at the present day, — 



HISTORY.— 1G09. 51 

have not yet been able to effect, is no discredit to the 
gallant Hudson. His attempt, however, led to a result 
more useful to the world, than that at which he aimed. 

Reading Lesson XX. 

Hudson's voyage along tJic Amo-ican coast. — After a 
tempestuous voyage, in which his vessel suffered much 
damage, Hudson reached the banks of Newfoundland, 
early in July, descried, soon after, the American coast, and 
entered Penobscot bay, where he communicated with the 
natives, and refitted his vessel. Coasting southward, he 
passed cape Cod, which, under the impression that it was 
an island, he named New Holland. Here, too, he held 
friendly intercourse with the natives. Continuing his 
course, he entered Chesapeake bay, about the middle of 
August, but soon determined to relinquish the farther 
prosecution of his voyage in a southerly direction, and, 
returning, entered Delaware bay. 

Hudson's entrance into the hay and Jiarhor of J^ew York. 
— Resuming his voyage, Hudson coasted northward, till 
he descried the Highlands of Navesinck, and, early in 
September, rounded Sandyhook, and anchored, near the 
shore, in what he termed the Great North River of New 
Nelherland. Here he was visited by large numbers of 
the natives, who offered tobacco, in exchange for knives 
and beads. The dress of these savages consisted of man- 
tles of feathers and furs : their decorations were orna- 
ments of copper. The bowls of their pipes seemed to be 
formed of the same metal. 

Resolving to explore the river, which, in honor of his 
enterprise, has since borne his own name, Hudson de- 
spatched a boat's crew, in advance, to examine the chan- 
nel. These men, on their return, after a survey of a few 
miles, were attacked by the natives ; and one of their num- 
ber was killed. The name of this individual, Colman, was 
given to the spot near Sandyhook, where he was interred. 

On the occasion of the next visit of the natives, Hudson 
detained three as hostages ; but one made his escape. 
On the 11th of September, Hudson, in his solitary vessel, 
passed the Narrows, and anchored in the inner harbor, 
where now so often may be seen, entering and departing, 
in vast numbers and ceaseless succession, the stately mer- 
chantmen of both hemispheres. 



52 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XX. 



SEC. IL— EXPLORATION OF THE HUDSON. 

Hudson's passage up the North River. — The prompting 
idea of Hudson's mind, in his attempt to explore the river 
which he had entered, was that, in the distant i-egions of 
its source, might be discovered some accessible outlet con- 
nected with the long-desired passage to the Indies. Pui- 
suing his course, therefore, he reached the region of the 
gorge of the Highlands. Here his two remaining hosta- 
ges made their escape, venting, in yells of rage, their in- 
dignation at their detention. 

At his successive landings, Hudson and his people were 
kindly received by the natives, and furnished with all re- 
quisites for their comfort, which the resources of these 
rude people could aftbrd. A brisk traffic was carried on 
between the natives and their new visitants ; the latter re- 
ceivingfurs and other articles, in exchange for the commod- 
ities usually found attractive to the people of savage tribes. 

Here took place the memorable experiment on the poor 
natives, in which one of their number, an aged chief, fell 
the first victim to the intoxicating drink of the white men. 
And " the long arrear of" similar "guilt," since then con- 
tracted, by those who call themselves christians, is yet un- 
washed out. The Indians, in this case, were, at first, 
appalled at the effect produced on their sachem, and, in 
their joy on his recovery, innocently loaded with presents 
the author of the evil. But the exciting draught had 
wrought its fatal charm on the ignorant savage ; and the 
thirst for the insidious poison induced him to remain, for 
a time, with its dispensers. From that hour to this, the 
" fire-water," has been doing its accursed work, — con- 
suming man after man, and tribe after tribe, till the day 
seems not distant when not one of the unhappy race who 
welcomed the white man to their shoi-es, shall remain to 
intimate that they ever had an existence. 

Hudsori's return dotvn the North River. — The explorino- 
voyage of the Half-Moon, was prosecuted to a point a 
little below the city of Albany, where Hudson became 
satisfied that he could not proceed farther up, with any 
hope of success in his main purpose. He returned, there- 
fore, as speedily as a southerly wind would permit ; land- 
ing, however, occasionally, and enjoying the beauty of the 
scenery, and the hospitality of the natives. 



HISTORY.— 1G12. 5S 

Unhappily, the good understanding, hitherto maintained 
•with the natives, was broken up, while the Half-Moon 
lay at anchor off Stony Point, in Haverstraw bay. Here 
an Indian was killed, while making off with some articles 
■which he had pilfered from the vessel. Farther violence 
followed ; and on the next day, large numbers of the na- 
tives attacked the vessel. The cannon of the whites kill- 
ed some, and dispersed the remainder of the assailants. 
The natives rallied, ere long, however, and again and 
again renewed the attack, but were, of coui"se, easily re- 
pulsed by the fire-arms of the Europeans, and several of 
their number, in every instance, slain. 

Hudsofi's komeivard voyage. — Early in October, Hud- 
son set sail for Holland, "via" England, vv^here, when he 
arrived, he despatched accounts of his voyage, to his em- 
ployers in Holland. But the English sovereign, jealous 
of the Dutch, would not permit Hudson to return to them. 
The issue was that Hudson entered the service of the 
London East-India company. His fate was a sad one, 
in the end; for, on a voyage undertaken for that body, 
having fallen a victim to a mutiny among his crew, he 
was exposed in an open boat, and perished at sea. 

SEC. III.— DUTCH TRADING VOYAGES, FROM 1610-1620. 

Reading Lesson XXL 

Estahlisliment of forts on Manhattan Island. — The ac- 
counts of Hudson's successful voyage kindled a spii'it of 
enterprise among the merchants of Holland, and, particu- 
larly, those of Amsterdam. The furs which Hudson re- 
ported as so easily to be obtained of the natives of New 
Netherland, were, to the Dutch people, a valuable article 
not only of domestic use but of foreign traffic ; and the 
fur trade of nearly all Europe subsequently continued 
long in their hands. 

A vessel was fitted out, in 1610, and despatched to the 
Manhattans, for the purpose of procuring furs in exchange 
for European goods. This voyage proved so successful 
as to lead to more extensive measures for prosecuting the 
profitable trade. In 1612, two vessels, bearing the char- 
acteristic names of the Little Fox and the Little Crane, 
though equipped ostensibly for the farther prosecution 
of the attempt to explore a northwest passage to India, 



54 NEW- YORK CI-ASS-BOOK.— LESSON XXI. 

visited the North River, in the following year, anti estab- 
*lished some permanent forts on Manhattan island, for the 
protection of the fur trade, which they briskly resumed, 
and which now began to be of acknowledged importance 
U) the people of Holland. 

The Dutch establishments on Manhattan island, were 
all under the care of Hendrick Corstiaensen, a bold, ac- 
tive, and enterprising individual, who ran his small craft 
into every accessible inlet, and collected a vast amouut of 
valuable furs. 

ArgaVs usurpation of the Dutch trading estahlishments. 
— The imperfect ideas, as yet enteitained by Europeans, 
regarding the new regions hitherto but partially explored 
by the subjects of any government, led to great confusion 
regarding the rights and claims of various nations to the 
possession of certain parts of this western continent. The 
English asserted a right to the whole of North America, 
in virtue of the voyage of the Cabots, as formerly men- 
tioned, and pretended to regard as intruders the colonists 
of the Dutch, French, and Spanish nations, who succes- 
sively established themselves in different parts of the 
newly discovered regions. 

In 1613, accordingly, captain Argal of Virginia, on his 
return from a hostile expedition to the French settlements 
in Nova Scotia, called at Manhattan island, and compelled 
Corstiaensen to submit to the authority of the governor of 
Virginia, and to acknowledge dependence on the crown 
of England. 

Decree of the States General, in 1614. — With a view to 
avert, in future, the evils to which the Manhattan colony 
had been subjected, the States General, or Dutch parlia- 
ment, issued, in March, 1614, a decree securing to all dis- 
coverers the exclusive right of trading, for four successive 
voyages, in the regions which they had explored. This 
decree was doubtless intended to have the double effect 
of securing adventurers of the same nation against en- 
croachments from one another, and from any interference 
on the part of foreigners ; as the protection of the States 
General was thus pledged to the first occupants. 

Exjfedition of Block, Me?/, Corstiaensen, etc. — This de- 
cree, although it took no effect on the Manhattan colony, 
stirred up the Dutch merchants to gi'eat activity in the 
fitting out of fresh expeditions to the new world. The 



HISTORY.— 1614. 55 

first oftlie.se vva^despatched from Amsterdam and Hoorn.* 
It consisted of the following ships, — the Little Fox, the 
Nightingale, the Tiger, and two vessels both beaiino^ the 
name of the Fortune. One of these two was from Hoorn, 
and was commanded by Cornelis Jacobson Mev, whose 
name is retained in cape May. The Tiger was com- 
manded by Adriaen Block, whose name was given to 
Block Island. The Amsterdam vessel, called the For- 
tune, was under the command of the energetic Hendrick 
Corstiaensen. 

Reading Lesson XXII. 

Block's exploring voyage. — Soon after the arrival of the 
above vessels, the three captains, before mentioned, pro- 
ceeded to explore the mouth of the Great River of the 
Manhattans, as it was then sometimes called. Here, 
Block had the misfortune to lose his vessel by fire. But 
the Dutch sailors of those times being generally ship-car- 
penters of great skill, he immediately set his men to work : 
and they soon constructed the first vessel built in North 
America, — a yacht, forty-four feet in length, and eleven 
and a half in width. This vessel, sufficiently well adapted 
to a coasting survey, was named the Onrest, (the Restless,) 
in allusion to the roving spirit of enterprise which caused 
her to be built. 

Origin of the name Hellgatc. — Setting sail in his new 
craft. Block proceeded to explore the coast east of Man- 
hattan island. To the East River he gave the name of 
Helletjatjt — that of one of the branches of the river 
Scheldt| in Flanders. This name the English corrupted 
into its present form, Hellgate, which was afterwards 
falsely supposed to have been given with reference to the 
perils which that rocky spot presents to navigation ; and 
-the desire to avoid the allusion suggested by the sound 
of this name, has led to the mistake of spelling it Hurl 
Gate. 

Discovery of Housatonic and Connecticut rivers. — Prose- 
cuting his voyage eastward, Block discovered the river 
called by the natives, Houestenuc, or River of the Red 
Mountain, and -tifterwards, by the English, Housatonic. 

* Pi'onounced, Horn. 

t Hellegat, (clear or bright river,) pi'onounced, Hayllaygdt. 

X Shaylt. ^ 



56 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XXIII. 

Proceeding still eastward, lie discovered and sailed up 
the Connecticut, as far as to latitude 41° 48' where he 
found a village of the Nawaa* Indians. To the stream 
he gave the name of Fresh River, which was not retained. 

Navigation of Long-Island Sound. — After returning 
down the Connecticut, he still pursued an easterly course 
through Long-Island Sound, which he imagined a bay, 
till he regained the ocean, and ascertained Long Island 
to be properly so called. To one of two small islands, at 
the eastern extremity of the great island, he gave his own 
name, which it retains to this day. To the other he gave 
the name of his fellow navigator Corstiaensen. But pos- 
terity has not, in this case, observed equal justice, by 
retaining the name of the hardy Dutch skipper who was 
so conspicuous in the early history of New Netherland. 

Narragansett Bay. — Block, on this voyage, discovered 
and explored Narragansett bay, which, in compliment to 
the prince of Orange-Nassau, of his native land, he 
called the bay of Nassau. The natives along its shores 
he found shy and distrustful, and could hold little com- 
munication with them. 

Pursuing his course to cape Cod, he there rejoined 
Corstiaensen, and thus terminated his explorino- voyage. 

Voyage of Cornclis Mey. — While Block was exploring 
the Sound, Mey coasted the southern shore of Long Island, 
which he examined with great care. He then followed 
the line of the coast southward to Delaware bay; and from 
his visit capes Cornells and May derived their names. 
The great south cape, now Henlopen, he named after 
Hindlopen, a town in the province of Friesland. 

Origin of the name Neiv Netherland. — The discoveries 
made by Block and his associates were duly reported in 
Holland ; and the company for whose benefit they had 
been made, secured their monopoly of trade, for the law- 
ful period, by presenting a map of the whole region, then 
first called " Nieu Nederlandt," — New Netherland. 

Reading Lesson XXIII. 

First trading-houses erected on the North River. — Over- 
looking the previous exploration by Hudson, the Dutch 
government granted to the claimants, in the present in- 

* Naw-waw. 



HISTORY.— 1618. 57 

Stance, the exclusive right to trade in the whole region 
of New Netherland ; and the company, thus authorized, 
proceeded to erect a trading-house, strongly fortified, on 
an island, a few miles below Albany, at the head of navi- 
gation, on the North River, — then named Mauritius river, 
in honor of prince Maurice of Holland. They built also 
another, on the southern extremity of Manhattan island. 
The former was under the command of a humane and 
enlightened man, Jacob Eelkens,* who conducted the 
Indian trade on principles of strict justice and humane 
feeling. The latter station was assigned to the intelli- 
gent and enterprising Corstiaensen. 

To these two posts, the one serving as a check on the 
warlike Mohawks, and the other on the fierce Manhat- 
tans, flocked the people of the native tribes, to dispose 
of their furs ; and thither came, every year, the ships of 
the New-Netherland company to receive the furs which, 
during the year, had been collected from all the surround- 
ing region, and even from the remotest haunts of the Five 
Nations. No pains were spared to maintain extensive 
and friendly communications with all the native tribes 
accessible to Europeans ; and the traffic thus secured was, 
owing to the high value of furs, abundantly lucrative to 
the Dutch traders and their employers, many of whom 
thus accumulated immense fortunes. 

Dutch tre,at]i with the Five Nations. — The fort com- 
manded by Eelkens suffered such damage from the 
breaking up of the ice, and from the spring flood, in 
the year 1618, that it had to be abandoned. A new 
site was chosen on the Norman's Kill, — the name given 
to Tawalsontha creek, from the surname of an early 
settler, Andfies Bratt De Noorman, — of Danish origin. 

As a proper measure of security, at this time, a treaty 
was here ratified with the Iroquois,t or Five Nations. 
The territory of these tribes extended from the North 
River and lake Champlain, on the east, to lake Erie and 
the river Niagara, on the west, and from lake Ontario 
and the St. Lawrence, on the north, to the country of the 
Delaware Indians, on the south. 

The Iroquois, at the time when the Dutch established 

themselves in their country, were at war with the Algon- 

quins, a nation inhabiting the adjoining regions of Cana- 

* ProiiounccLl, Ailhinn. t Eeroqwatc. 

C* 



58 NEVV-YOSK CLASS-nOOK.— LESSON XXIV. 

fla, then colonized by the French. The aid of fire-arms, 
derived from their French allies, gave to the Algonquins 
an easy surperiority over the Iroquois ; and the latter, 
therefore, gladly embraced the opportunity of cultivating 
the friendship of the Dutch, as the means of securing the 
.same advantages which their enemies enjoyed through, 
their alliance with the French. 

The treaty ratified on the banks of the Norman's Kill, 
was celebrated with all the forms and ceremonies to 
which the Indians were so devotedly attached. The 
advantages derived from it, by both parties, wei-e of the 
utmost value to each. The Dutch secured, by it, the 
whole fur trade of the Iroquois nations ; and the latter 
obtained the means of rendering themselves formidable 
to all the surrounding tribes. 

SEC. IV.— THE DUTCH W^EST-INDIA COMPANY.— 1621-1638. 

Reading Lesson XXIV. 

Origin of ilie Company. — One of the most opulent and 
powerful commercial establishments of Europe, in the 
seventeenth century, was the Dutch East-India company. 
The struggle which Holland so long and successfully 
maintained for its independence of the Spanish sovereign- 
ty, had imparted a spirit of energy and enterprise to the 
Dutch merchants, which led them to embark, on the most 
extensive scale, in colonial and maritime adventures, and 
to cherish, in their mariners, every means of attaining a 
consummate skill in naval warfare. Their magnificent 
East-India-men, equipped in the amplest style fur every 
purpose of commerce and of war, were among the won- 
ders of the day. They were the pride of the nation, and 
seemed to sanction the claim of the Dutch to the su- 
premacy of the seas. 

The brilliant success of their maritime enterprises in 
the East, led to the formation of the Dutch West-India 
company, — an association which extended itself through- 
out the principal cities of Holland. The executive 
authority of this powerful body, was vested in the cham- 
ber of commerce at Amsterdam. 

The States General, regarding the new company as an 
important source of national revenue and power, and an 
additional arm to be wielded aoainst the naval force of 



HISTORY.— 1624. 59 

Spain, secured to the association the freedom of navi- 
gation and traffic, together with an ample marine for 
protection, in case of war. The privileges granted to 
jjrivate adventurers, were, in the meantime, restricted to 
tlie date anticipated for the commencement of operations 
on the part of the company. 

English i^rotest against Dutch colonization. — The En- 
glish colonial companies whose interests were at stake in 
Virginia and in New England, took the alarm at these 
formidable preparations, on the part of Holland ; and re- 
monstrances against these proceedings, were despatched 
to their " High Mightinesses," the States General ; as the 
English nation still asserted their original claim, in virtue 
of the right of discovery and partial occupation, to that 
part of America which lay between the Spanish posses- 
sions on the south, and those of the French on the north. 

The Dutch government at first parried this application 
by denying any intention of colonizing, although they per- 
sisted in the undertaking so far as regarded purposes of 
trathc ; and the English, content, for the time, with the 
implied concession of their claims, prosecuted the matter 
no farther. 



CHAP. III. — NEW YORK, UNDER THE DUTCH 
WEST-INDIA COMPANY. 

SEC. I.~ADMlNISTRATION OF DIRECTOR MLNUIT.— 1624-1633. 
Reading Lesson XXV. 

First Dutch colonial expedition. — After the death of 
King James I. of England, the silence of the English 
claimants seems to have induced a revival of the Dutch 
project of colonization. Preparations for this purpose 
were commenced in 1622 ; and, in the summer of the fol- 
lowing year. New Netherland was erected into a prov- 
ince of Holland. Colonists, consisting, at first, of the 
company's agents and servants, were sent out, to establish 
permanent settlements. Ofone of these expeditions cap- 
tain Mey, formerly mentioned, was commander ; and, re- 



GO NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XXV. 

turning to the river which he had first explored, he erect- 
ed fort Nassau on a site near to the present town of 
Gloucester. A new post, called fort Orange, was, about 
the same time, established on the Hudson, a few miles 
north of that formerly mentioned as erected on the Nor- 
man's Kill. 

Peter Mimiit, the first Dutch governor of Ncic Nether- 
land. — In the year 1624, Peter Minuit, or Minnewit, a 
Westphalian, came out to New Netherland, with the 
formal appointment of director, or governor, of the colony. 
In company with the governor, arrived a colony of Wal- 
loons,* a people distinguished, since the days of Julius 
Ceesar, for fierce and warlike character, and, in modern 
history, for their steadfast devotion to the Protestant faitli. 

Origin of the names Wallahout and Brooklyn. — Some 
of these Walloon emigrants settled, at first, on Staten 
island, but afterwards removed to the vicinity of Walla- 
bout bay, — originally named from these early settlers, 
Waal-boght, or Wahle-bocht, (Foreigners' Bay.) This 
settlement extended, at a subsequent period, to the site 
of the modern city of Brooklyn, the original name of 
which was Breukelen, — that of a Dutch village, in the 
province of Utrecht. 

Colonial government of New Netherland. — The primi- 
tive form of government in New Netherland, included, in 
addition to the director, a council of five, and a prosecu- 
ting officer, called the " schout fiscal," whose duties com- 
bined those of sheriff and attorney-general. 

Purchase of ManJiattan Island. — Under the guidance 
and control of these guardians, the Dutch establishments 
advanced rapidly in prosperity ; and, in 1626, the West- 
India company deemed it worth while to assign an armed 
ship and a yacht, as a permanent naval protection to the 
colony, Manhattan island was also purchased of the na- 
tives, who, in their simplicity, accepted the paltry sum 
of twenty-four dollars, as an equivalent for one of the 
noblest sites which any commercial city in the world can 
boast. 

Origin of the name New Amsterdam. — The purchase of 

Staten island and other portions of the adjacent country, 

soon followed ; and a substantial blockhouse was erected 

at the southern point of Manhattan island. This post, 

* Inhabitants of the frontier region between Belgium anJ France. 



HISTORY.— 1C27. 61 

called fort Amsterdam, in compliment to the city which 
was the European head quarters of the West-India com- 
pany, became the central point of New Amsterdam, — 
the capital of New Netherland, and the original of the 
modern city of New York. 

Correspondence with the English colony at New Ply- 
mouth. — The year 1627 is distinguished, in the early his- 
tory of New York, by the commencement of a corre- 
spondence between the Dutch authorities at fort Amster- 
dam and the English colonists established at Plymouth, in 
Massachusetts. This correspondence was opened by the 
former, with expressions of friendly regard, and proposals 
for traffic. The English governor replied in terms of 
courtesy, but warned the Dutch against trading with the 
Narragansetts, or extending their traffic beyond the limits 
of forty degrees, north latitude. 

The reply of the Dutch authorities, was friendly and 
respectful, but firmly maintained their right to trade, as 
previously, with the natives. A present of sugar and 
cheese, for the English governor's larder, accompanied 
the written communication. The coiTespondence, it may 
be observed, was maintained by the Dutch through the 
medium of the French language. 

Governor Bradford acknowledged the civilities of the 
Dutch colonists, and proposed that they should send a 
deputation to confer on the subject of trade at New Ply- 
mouth. In the meantime, he suggested the great impor- 
tance of a mutual imderstanding between the Dutch and 
English home governments, on matters of territory and 
commercial traffic. 

Isaac De Razier* was accordingly deputed from fort 
Amsterdam, and received with due ceremony at New 
Plymouth. An opening of the commerce between the 
two colonies, was made, on the occasion, by purchases, on 
the part of the English. The intercourse thus begun, 
was continued, for many years, to the great advantage of 
both pai'ties ; the English disposing of fish and corn, in 
exchange for the manufactures of Holland, and for the 
sewan, or wampum, which formed so important an article 
in trading with the natives. 

♦ Pronounced, Ratseer.- The English pronunciation of Dutch 
names, is inappropriate, in reading our local history, till it comes down 
to the English penod. 



62 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XXVI. 

The terms of subsequent commerce, were, however, 
left to be adjusted at a future day ; as the English colony 
was awaiting the return of an agent who had been de- 
spatched to Europe for the purpose of securing appropri- 
ate supplies. In the meantime, the Dutch were again 
reminded of the urgent necessity of a formal recognition 
of rights of occupancy, on both sides, lest their claims 
should, hereafter, prove cause of hostility. 

Alarmed by this hint, the government at fort Amster- 
dam wrote home, on this subject, to the Dutch West-India 
company. But the application had been anticipated, and 
a treaty made with the English government, in conse- 
quence of which all British ports were thrown open to 
the trading vessels of New Netherland, as well as those 
of all other parts of the Dutch dominions. 

Reading Lesson XXVI. 

Efforts to j)^'Oinote colonization. — Tlie affairs of the 
Dutch West-India company, although well conducted by 
their agents in America, began to reti'Ograde, in conse- 
quence of the diminution in both the supply and the 
value of furs obtained from the natives. The attention 
of the company was, from this cause, directed to coloniza- 
tion, on a more extensive scale, as a means of furnishing 
requisite supplies, and diminishing the cost of trade, if not, 
ultimately, of affording a lucrative commerce. 

The Spanish fleet, returning from the Rio de la Plata, 
in the autumn of 1628, was captured in the bay of Matan- 
zas by admiral Heyn, in command of the Dutch com- 
pany's ships. The value of the prizes accruing to the 
company, was nearly five millions of dollars. This sea- 
sonable aid revived the spirit of the directors, and induced 
them to propose liberal and advantageous terms to per- 
sons who were disposed to establish themselves, as colo- 
nists, in New Netherland. 

Origin of the title " Fatroon.'"* — Among the induce- 
ments held out by the West-India company, for the 
purpose of securing an able and efficient body of colo- 
nists, was that of assigning to wealthy proprietors the 

* A term derived from the Latin patronus, — the designation of a ' 
Roman senator, — one of the patres, (fathers,) — with reference to his 
clients, or dependents. 



HISTORV.— lC-29. 63 

nominal dignity of patroon, on condition of their planting 
a colony of at least fifty persons upwards of fifteen years 
old, within a limited period. The company retained the 
supremacy of " the island of Manhattes." But the pa- 
troons were at liberty to select, elsewhere, such tracts of 
land as they chose, to the extent of four Dutch miles, 
(sixteen English,) along one side of a navigable river, or 
two miles, (Dutch,) along both sides, and reaching as far 
inland as the situation of the occupiers should permit, 
with the reservation, only, of a distance of seven or eight 
miles from the limits of the neai'est colony, which space 
was reserved by the company, to be disposed of at their 
pleasure, or allowed to be temporarily enjoyed by the 
nearest patroon. 

All the rights of absolute ownership and possession, 
were to be enjoyed by the patroons and their heirs, under 
allegiance, merely, to the authority of the States General. 
Restrictions, however, were laid on traffic, requiring all 
ai'ticles, (with a few specified exceptions,) to be brought 
to the company's establishments on the island of the 
Manhattes, for farther disposal. The fur trade was re- 
served for the exclusive benefit of the company. The 
colonists, however, were exempted from all imposts 
whatever, for ten years, and were to be protected by 
the company, in case of war. 

Private individuals, not aspiring to the dignity of pa- 
troons, were allowed to select as much land as they 
could occupy and improve, and to enjoy the full and 
untrammelled possession of it. But all were forbidden to 
engage in any form of manufacture ; this unjust restriction 
being, then, a common stipulation, on the part of the 
mother country, with the colonists of all nations. 

Three other conditions, of very different character and 
consequences, formed part of the company's bill of stipu- 
lations and immunities. One of these was an obligation, 
on the part of the company, to provide the colonists 
" with as many blacks as they can," on certain stipulated 
terms. Another, and a more benign regulation, was, 
that the patroons and colonists should, " in the speediest 
manner endeavor to find out ways and means whereby 
they may support a minister and schoolmaster, that thus 
the service of God, and zeal for religion, may not grow 
cool, and be neglected among them ; and that they do, for 



64 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XXV IL 

the first, procure a comforter of the sick there." An 
express stipulation, universally binding, was that, in all 
cases, the Indian proprietors should receive a satisfactory 
compensation for whatever lands the patroons and other 
colonists should proceed to occupy. 

Reading Lesson XXVIL 

Colonics of Ztvanenclal* Rcnsselaerswyck, and Pa- 
vonia. — Sevei-al of the leading members of the Amster- 
dam chamber of commerce, anticipating the benefits 
likely to accrue from the special privileges offered, as 
a bounty on colonization, by the West-India company, 
secured by their agents the purchase of extensive tracts 
of land in New Nethai'land. Among the purchases thus 
made, was the region comprehended under the colony of 
Rensselaerswyck, extending over the present counties of 
Albany, Rensselaer, and Columbia. This vast tract was 
purchased for Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, pearl-merchant of 
Amsterdam, one of the directors of the company, and the 
ancestor of the present Van Rensselaer family. 

The agents of Samuel Godyn and Samuel Bloemraart, 
purchased, for them, an extensive tract on the South 
river, (the Delaware,) adjoining cape Hindlopen. This 
colony, originally named Zwanendal, or the valley of 
swans, — from the vast numbers of wild geese and swans, 
which annually resorted to the creeks in that vicinity, — 
was the colonial germ of the state of Delaware. 

Michel Paauw,t also a director, secured, by his agents, 
extensive tracts, including among others, the lands around 
Hoboken and Jersey City; and from this colony, named 
in honor of its founder, Pavonia, grew up, ultimately, the 
state of New Jersey. 

Disagreements hetivecn tlic jxitroons and the company. — 
The patroons soon found it to their advantage to unite 
their endeavors for the promotion of their schemes of 
colonization ; and they thus brought their principal estab- 
lishments to a state of great prosperity. They were not 
content, however, with agricultural improvement, but 
manifested, ere long, an eager desire to partake in the 
company's lucrative fur trade. 

The company appealed, for the defence of their rights, 
* Pronoimced, Tsivdncnddl. t Pdoo. 



HISTORY.-1632. 65 

to the States General; and that body immediately pro- 
ceeded to take vigorous measures for the adjustment of 
the matters in dispute. One of the first steps taken to- 
wards this result, was the recall of director-general Min- 
uit, who embarked for Holland, in the spring of 1632. 

Detention of governor Minuit by the English. — The ship 
in which Minuit sailed, being compelled, by stress of 
weather, to put into the harbor of Plymouth, in England, 
was there seized, at the instance of the New-England 
company, for having obtained her cargo in countries per- 
taining to the English crown. Captain Mason, the com- 
pany's most active director, and the instigator of these 
proceedings, addressed a vehement letter of grievances to 
:he secretary of state, complaining of the proceedings of 
the Dutch in America, and charging them with the gross- 
3st acts of injustice and aggression ; renewing, at the 
same time, the assertion of the English claims to the whole 
region in possession of the Dutch. 

Director Minuit, justly indignant at these measures, 
repaired immediately to London, and submitted his case 
to the Dutch ambassadors there. These functionaries 
applied, at once, to the king. His majesty, however, 
^ave them an evasive though respectful answer, and de- 
ferred any decision till the affair should have been care- 
fully investigated. The ambassadors immediately wrote 
home, urging the full presentation of the national claims 
to the territory in dispute. 

Reading Lesson XXVIIL 

RigJits of the Dutch to tlicir possessions in America. — 
The Dutch West-India company were, in the meantime, 
busily occupied in pressing their cause upon the attention 
of the States General. They maintained that, even ac- 
cording to the showing of the English themselves, the 
Dutch territory ought to be considered as extending from 
latitude thirty-nine, inclusive, to forty-one. 

This representation was transmitted, in due form, to 
the ambassadors, and by them laid before the British 
government. The reply of the latter was peremptory, as 
to the English claim founded on discovery, and the crown 
grant for the colonization of Virginia. But, satisfied with 
the renewed assertion of their right to the territory claim- 



66 NFAV-YORK CLAeS-BOOK.-LESSOX XXVIIl. 

eel, tlie T3ritisli cabinet advised the release of the vessel 
which had been seized under plea of infiingement of 
rights, but under jDrotest, as to the validity of his majes- 
ty's claims. 

Continued dissensions hctwcen tJie j^atroons and tlie com- 
j^any. — The misunderstanding which still existed between 
the patroons and the company, as to the right of trade, 
had now become a source of great injury to the infant 
colonies. The company enforced, in the most vigorous 
manner, their monopoly of not only the fur trade and the 
dealing in wampum, but even the disposal of maize, the 
great staple of the plantations. 

Destruction of the colony at Zwanendal. — The year 
1632 was rendered memorable, in the history of New 
Netherland, by the melancholy catastrophe which befell 
the colony at Zwanendal. This event is thus related in 
the valuable work of Mr. O'Callaghan, to whom the people 
of New York are so deeply indebted for the commence- 
ment of an exact and authentic history of the state. 

"It happened that the Dutch, in keeping with the prac- 
tice prevalent in those days, had erected, on taking pos- 
session of this new plantation, a pillar on a prominent 
part of their territory, to which they affixed, in token of 
sovereignty, a piece of tin, on which they traced the em- 
blem, or arms, of the United Provinces. An Indian chief, 
in quest of a tobacco-pipe, took a fancy to this glittering 
sheet, for the purpose of supplying his want, and carried 
it off, ignorant that there was any impropriety in the act. 

" Gillis Hoosett,* one of the company's men, whom 
De Vriest had left in charge of his fort, inconsiderately 
viewed the innocent act of the untutored savage as a na- 
tional insult, and evinced so much dissatisfaction, that the 
Indians, to make amends for this unintentional offence, 
killed the chief who had taken the piece of tin away, and 
returned it with a token of the bloody deed. This natu- 
rally shocked the Dutch commander, who explained to 
the Indians that they had done wrong; that they ought 
to have brought the chief to him, and he WH-)uld have told 
him not to repeat the act. But the spirit of wild revenge 
had been roused, meanwhile, in the breasts of the friends 
and kinsmen of the murdered chief; and they determined 
on wreaking dire and dreadful vengeance. 

* Prououuced, Hbsct. t Day V recce. 



11 



HISTORY.— 16:«. C7 

"The colony of Zwanendal consisted, at this time, of 
lirty-four persons. Of these, thirty-two were, one day, 
I work in the fields, while conmiissary Hoosett remain- 
d in charge of the house, where another of the settlers 
'.y sick abed. A large bull-dog was chained out of doors, 
n pretence of selling some furs, three savages entered 
le house, and murdered Hoosett* and the sick man. 
hey found it not so easy to despatch the watch-dog. It 
as not till they had pierced him with at least twenty-five 
rrows, that he was destroyed. The men in the fields 
ere then set on, in an equally treacherous manner, 
nder the guise of friendship, and every man of them 
ain. Thus terminated the colony of the Valley of 
wans, to the great loss of the projectors, as well as to the 
reat injury of their characters as cautious and prudent 
len. 

" It was after the occurrence of this melancholy and 
nforeseen catastrophe, that De Vries reached the mouth 
r the South River, at the close of the year, ' promising 
imself great things, jilenty of whales, and good land for 
iltivation.' He found his house destroyed, the palisades, 
y which it was surrounded, burned, and the heads and 
:)nes of his murdered men bestrewing the earth. No 
am of industry enlivened the gloomy solitude. Not a 
uman being appeared to respond to the signal gun, which 
>e Vries ordei'ed.to be fired, to give notice of his arrival." 

De Vries, however, wisely avoided hostilities with the 
itives, and even ratified a treaty of peace and amity with 
lem, without allusion to the past. This course, in a case 
here there was but one party surviving to tell the story 
f the fatal affair, seemed the only one which prudence 
ould sanction, in circumstances in which traffic, and not 
inquest, was the aim of the Europeans. 

ZC. II.— ADMINISTRATION OF DIRECTOR VAN TWILLER.— 1G33-1637. 

Reading Lesson XXIX. 

Wotiter Van TiciUer, second director-general. — On 
[inuit's return to Holland, Wouter Van Twiller, a clerk 
1 the employ of the West-India company, was appointed 
irector-general. The new governor arrived at fort 

* This Hoosett was an active agent in purchasing the lauds around 
irt Orange, for Van Rensselaer. 



68 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK— LESSON XXIX. 

Amsterdam, in tlie spring of 1633, accompanied by a 
small body of troops, for the defence of the colony, to- 
gether with the first schoolmaster, and, it is thought, the i 
first clergyman, of the colony at fort Amsterdam. 

Visit of the English ship William. — Soon after the ar- i gi 
rival of the new director, the struggle between the Dutch i tl 
and the English colonists, commenced. An English ship, ^ n 
the William, commanded by captain Trevor, in pursu- In 
ance of orders from home, after landing her passengers ' w 
and cargo at New Plymouth, and establishing a fishing »l 
station at Scituate, not far distant from the English colony, 
proceeded to Hudson's river, for the purpose of trading 
with the natives. 

The supercargo of the ship was the same Jacob Eel- 
kins, who was formerly mentioned as the successful con- 
ductor of the business of the New-Netherland company 
on Castle island, but who had now transferred his ser- 
vices to the English. He seems to have had entire con- 
trol over the movements of the vessel, and to have acted 
with the most zealous devotion to the interests of his new 
employers ; and, on being refused permission to ascend 
the rivei", boldly pei'sisted in passing up to within a mile 
of fort Orange, where he commenced trading with the 
natives. His former residence in the country, and his 
perfect knowledge of the Indian language, gave him great 
advantages in this respect. 

The Dutch commissary at fort Orange, used every ex 
ertion to thwart the proceedings of Eelkins, but withou 
effect ; as the Indians were much attached to him, in con 
sequence of their long experience of his amiable and just 
conduct in his official transactions with them, in former^ 
years. He pursued his enterprise, therefore, with greal 
success, till about a fortnight after his anchoring belo 
fort Orange, when an armament, despatched by directo 
Van Twiller from below, and consisting of a pinnace, 
caravel, and a hoy, fully equipped with a naval and mill 
tary force, aided by the garrison of fort Orange, broke u 
his establishment, reembarked his goods, took possessio: 
of his vessel, and carried her down to fort Amsterdam 
The remonstrances of Eelkins, who claimed his right t 
trade, as in the employment of British subjects, withi: 
the British dominions, were all in vain ; and he was, er 
long, compelled to leave the river, under convoy of a 



HISTORY.— 1C33. 69 

•med vessel, not, however, without having refused to 
)mply with the demand of governor Van Twiller, to 
irrender the peltry which he had acquired in his traffic, 
he English company, in due season, presented to their 
ivernment a complaint against the alleged wrongs which 
ey had suffered, including the loss of the valuable furs 
hich they had expected to receive, if their vessel had 
ien allowed to prolong her stay in the river. This affair 
as not without its weight in the subsequent proceedings 
"England towards the Dutch colonies. 
Dutch establishment on the Connecticut river. — Director 
an Twiller appears, by the accounts of his contempora- 
es, to have been a person little suited to fill, with dignity, 
e office which he held. Himself and his council seem 
have been addicted to intemperance, and to have been 
Ltremely deficient in energy and decision of character, 
hey were not, however, without zeal for the interests of 
e company, and the rising prosperity of New Amster- 
im. They perceived distinctly the advantages that must 
suit from the possession of a station which should secure 
e trade of the region intervening between the North 
iver and New Plymouth, and accordingly took measures 
obtain such a position. 

Sequen, an Indian chief, had possession of a beautiful 
id fertile ti'act, around the present town of Saybrook, on 
e western side of the Connecticut river, or, as it was 
en called, the Fresh river of New Netherland. But 
s right to this tract had been disputed by the Pequod 
lief on the eastern shore. A fierce war between the 
aimants ensued; and the result was the entire subjuga- 
jn of Sequen. The lattei*, however, obtained the con- 
nt of his conqueror to put himself, and the remnant of 
s tribe, under the protection of the Dutch, who had 
•eviously secured a footing at the mouth of the Connec- 
;ut. 

Jacob Van Curler,* a clerk in the service of the com- 
my, was employed to conduct a treaty for the purchase 
' the tract before mentioned, which was done, to the 
itire satisfaction of the Indians, on the receipt of " one 
ece of duffels, twenty-seven ells long, six axes, six ket- 
3S, eighteen knives, one sword-blade, one shears, and 
»me toys," in return for a tract of country represented 
* Frououuced, Coorler. 



70 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XXX. 

as nearly sixty miles in extent. On a portion of the land 
thus obtained, Van Curler erected a fortified tradiiio^- 
house, which he named " Good Hope," — in the usual style 
of the Dutch, with whom that was a favorite designation 
of similar establishments, as one deemed auspicious of 
future success. The people of Holland, it may be recol- 
lected, were conspicuous, at that day, for their belief in 
omens. 

Reading Lesson XXX. 

An English trading-house estahlished on the Connecti- 
cut. — The governor and council of New Amsterdam, were, 
in the autumn of the same year, surprised by the receipt 
of letters from the English governor at Boston in Massa- 
chusetts, announcing that the whole country extending 
from the Narragansetts to the Manhattans, had been 
granted by the English sovereign to certain of his sub- 
jects ; and warning the director to attempt no settlement ii 
within these limits. 

To this communication a peaceable and friendly answer 
was returned, but due mention made of the procedure of 
the Dutch company's servants on the Connecticut, and a 
delay solicited of any proceeding, on the part of the En- 
glish, till matters should have been arranged by the re- 
spective authorities in Europe. 

In the meantime, however, the colony at New Plymouth 
had made preparations for establishing a trading-house 
on the Connecticut, for the express purpose of counter- 
acting the proceedings of the Dutch in that quarter, and 
though dissuaded by the colony of Massachusetts, fitted 
out a vessel containing the frame-work of a block-house, 
and, disregarding the protest of the Dutch officer at fort 
Good Hope, passed up the river, as far as Windsor, and 
there erected their house and fortification, subsequently 
to which unjustifiable acts, they despatched their vessel 
home, as an intimation of their design to keep permanent 
possession of the spot which they had occupied. 

Against these proceedings Van Twiller sent an earnest 
protest to the English officer at Windsor, who, however, 
avowed his intention to remain there, as an English sub- 
ject on English ground. An account of this encroach- 
ment was forthwith despatched to Holland, and, in the 
meantime, an armed force sent to compel the English to 



HISTORY.— i(;:m. 71 

remove. The intruders, however, immediately set them- 
selves on the defensive, and the Dutch force was with- 
drawn ; the instructions of the commander not author- 
izing him, in the absence of express directions from the 
company, to proceed to extremes. 

GrowtJi of New Amsterdam. — Measures were, this year, 
adopted for enlarging and strengthening the growing set- 
tlement at New Amsterdam. A guard-house and barrack 
and a church, (the first erected in New Amsterdam,) a 
mansion for the director-genei'al, and other edifices, all 
indicating the extension of the settlement, were oi'dered 
to be built. 

The affairs of the Dutch West-India company, wore, at 
this time, an aspect of the highest prosperity; and director 
Van Twiller seems to have acted up to his own impres- 
s-ions on this subject, by his liberal expenditures and ef- 
fective undertakings for the farther extension of the com- 
merce of the colony. 

In pursuance of these views, an extensive tract of land 
on the Schuylkill, was purchased of the natives, and a 
trading-post established there. But reverses, ere long, 
began to be experienced at the hand of the Indians, who, 
from unknown causes of dissatisfaction, committed various 
acts of hostility against several of the Dutch establish- 
ments. The most serious of these were the warlike pro- 
ceedings of the Pequods, who not only murdered the 
natives who resorted to the trading-house at fort Hope, 
but invited the English to establish themselves near. 

Proceedings connected with tire e.r pulsion of the ship 
William. — On the return of the ship William to England, 
her owners applied, for damages, to the Dutch ambassa- 
dors, who, in turn, submitted the affair to the States 
General. That body appointed a committee of investiga- 
tion ; and the latter referred the whole matter to be pre- 
sented by a statement from the agents of the company. 
On the application thus made, the States General refused 
to interfere, and recommended a conference between the 
officers of the company and the English ambassador. 
The fatal delay thus incurred was ultimately unfavorable 
to the rights and claims of the Dutch, as subsequent events 
will show. 



72 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON XXXL 

Reading Lesson XXXI. 

Origin of Bergen, New Jersey. — Jan* Evertsen Bout.t 
in the employment of the Dutch West-India company, 
was, this year, sent out by Mr. Paauw, as superintendent 
of his colony of Pavonia. This individual obtained, in 
1638, the grant of a farm within the limits of the present 
town of Bergen, which was the first actual settlement in 
that quarter. 

Continued encroacliments of the English. — The reports 
heard by the English colonists of Massachusetts, of the 
fertile valley of the Connecticut, induced more and more 
of their people, yearly, to migrate to that region ; and 
extensive settleinents were soon effected by them, along 
the most desirable portions of the river. To these en- 
croachments the inefficient government of Van Twiller 
opposed no effectual resistance ; and a body of English- 
men, who had actually attempted the capture of fort 
Nassau on the Delaware, were, on the failure of their 
attempt, and their transmission to fort Amsterdam, as 
prisoners, peaceably allowed to establish themselves, as 
colonists, in the vicmity. 

Character of Van Twiller. — The convivial habits of the 
dii-ector, seem to have disqualified him for the decent 
discharge of his official duties, so far as to call down 
the unmeasured and sometimes insulting rebukes of Mr. 
Bogardus, the chaplain, or clergyman, of the colony. 
The disputes of these dignitaries seem to have been 
nearly alike disgraceful, to the station of each. But the 
positive malversations of Van Twiller extended to the 
appropriation of large portions of the company's domain 
to his personal uses ; and his connivance at similar pro- 
ceedings on the part of others, led to extensive peculation, 
as a general practice among the company's servants. 

Origin of Flatlands, Long Island. — It was in such ways 
that the first settlements were effected at Flatlands, Long 
Island; Van Twiller, Curler and others, having purchased 
of the Indians, extensive tracts in that vicinity, without 
the knowledge of the directors at home, and commenced 
plantations, for their personal benefit. 

Dinclage's\ opposition to the irregxdarities of Van Twil- 
ler. — The fiscal Dinclage was the only member of the 
* Pronounced, Ydn. t Boot. X Dincldgay's. 



HISTORY.— 1G38. 73 

administration at fort Amsterdam who opposed the un- 
righteous proceedings of the director ; and his honest; 
opposition drew down upon him the resentment of Van 
T wilier, who condemned him to lose his salary, now long 
in arrear, and to return to Holland there to justify his 
conduct before the company. 

Dinclage, on his return, made application to the direc- 
tors and to the States General, and at last succeeded in 
attracting attention to the shameful state of things at New 
Amsterdam. The result was the appointment of a new 
director-general, Willem Kieft, before whose arrival, how- 
ever, Van Twiller had pursued his system of private 
dealings with the natives, and become possessed of what 
are now called. Governor's and Blackwell's islands, be- 
sides other valuable tracts. 

Measures adopted by the States General, Jor promoting 
colonization. — The investigation into the affairs of New 
Netherland, which led to the appointment of Kieft as 
director-general, disclosed such a scene of inefficiency, 
mismanagement, and loss, that the States General became 
desirous of adopting vigorous measures for rescuing the 
sinking colony, and securing its future prosperity. The 
extensive introduction into the country of substantial colo- 
nists, who would devote their attention to agriculture, 
seemed the only adequate measure for this end ; as the 
irregular life of the traders and soldiers, and the grasping 
imbition of the patroons, seemed to operate as a fatal 
ninderance to the vital prosperity of the colony. 

SEC. III.— ADMINISTRATION OF CIEECTOR KIEFT.— 1638-1646. 

Reading Lesson XXXII. 

WiUem Kieft, third director-general. — The new director- 
general, Kieft, arrived in the spring of 1638, and pro- 
ceeded to organize his government, and regulate public 
affairs. A vigorous system of prohibitions and penalties, 
was adopted, as a check on the dissolute and intemperate 
babits which had disgraced the colony ; and efi'ective 
measures were taken for securing the prosperity of future 
immigrants. 

In the former of these attempts, little success seems to 
bave followed the well-meant endeavors of the new direc- 
tor. But, in the latter, he was greatly aided by the fitTi- 

D 



74 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XXXU. 

val and settlement of many excellent colonists, some of 
whose names continuetl to be favorably known, as borne 
by their descendants. Among those who, about this time, 
established themselves in New Netherland, we fitid the 
names of La Montagne, Verplanck, De Foreest, and 
others. 

First arrangements for the inspection of tohacco. — The 
high value of the tobacco of New Netherland, in foreign 
markets, now required some protective measure for se- 
curing its character, and guarding against fraud and 
deterioration. Inspectors were accordingly appointed, 
and other steps taken, to effect the desired object. 

Swedish establislimciits on the Delaware. — Usselinx,* 
the original projector of the Dutch West-India company, 
disappointed in his attempts in his native country, sub- 
mitted his plans for trade and colonization to the govern- 
ment of Sweden. The death of king Gustavus, how- 
ever, caused the failure of the project. But the scheme 
was revived by Peter Minuit, on his dismission from the 
service of the Dutch West-India company, and was 
adopted with gi-eat spirit, by queen Christina. 

Minuit was accordingly furnished with a man-of-war 
and tender, fully equipped for his purpose. He set sail 
for the Delaware, and ari-ived in that river, in the month 
of April, after a visit to the English colony at James- 
town in Virginia. Notwithstanding the objections and 
protests of the Dutch commander at fort Nassau, and of 
director-general Kieft, he proceeded to trade with the 
natives in the vicinity of the present city of Philadelphia, 
bought a tract of land of them, and erected a fort, which,, 
on his subsequent departure for Holland, he left well; 
garrisoned, — so much so, that governor Kieft was un- 
able, for the time, to attempt the reduction of it. 

Abrogation of the charter of the West-India comj)any. — 1 
The States General, now r-esolved to promote the colo-l 
nization of the national domain in America, urged uponl 
the attention of the company the necessity of modifyingl 
the charter under which they held their possessions, sc 
as to throw open the benefits of colonization and com- 
merce to private individuals. To such a change th( 
company and the patroons manifested an unfeigned re-j 
luctance ; and each of these bodies proposed such 
* Pronounced, Oosselinx. 



HISTORY.— 1639. 75 

remodelling of the charter as was not only inadequate to 
the views of the States General, but utterly incompatible 
with any course which had any other object than the 
immediate and exclusive benefit of the parties interested 
in upholding the principles of monopoly and exclusion. 

The committee appointed by the States General to 
confer with the Amsterdam chamber, acting for the com- 
pany, perceiving the impossibility of accomplishing any 
thing for the benefit of the colony, by half-way measures, 
reported in such terms as induced the States General to 
aboHsh the monopoly of trade and colonization, and to 
throw open, to all who were willing to comply with 
certain regulations, the advantages of free communication 
with the native race, and untrammelled occupation of the 
soil. 

Reading Lesson XXXIII. 

Good effects of the abolition of the company^ s monopoly. — 
No sooner was the new order of things, consequent on 
the abrogation of the exclusive privileges of the West- 
India company, fairly established, than the whole region 
of New Netherland, but, particularly, the colony at New 
Amsterdam, began to make rapid advances in j)rosperity. 
The directors in Holland had the good sense to perceive 
the advantages which would result to themselves from 
the establishment of permanent settlements, and held out 
the most advantageous offers of land, stock, and even pro- 
visions and clothing on the most accommodating tei-ms, as 
inducements to hardy and enterprising emigrants to re- 
sort to the colonies. 

The settlements were, accordingly, soon reinforced 
with large numbers of able and industrious people, dis- 
posed to take up their residence, for life, in New Nether- 
land. In addition to emigrants of this description, there 
were also not a few whose wealth, and even rank, at 
home, tended to raise the enterprise of colonization, in 
the estimation formed of it both in Europe and America. 

At the same time, the persecution suffered in New 
England, by all who did not conform to the Puritan 
faith, drove many families, for refuge, to the Dutch colo- 
nies ; and numbei-s of persons who had completed their 
period of service on plantations in Virginia, came to 
New Amsterdam, to employ themselves, on advanta- 



76 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XXXIV. 

geous terms, with the Dutch planters. The most vahi- 
able accessions of labor and skill were thus secured to 
the gi'owing interests of New Amsterdam. 

Continued encroachments of the English. — Disregarding 
all the remonstrances and resistance of the Dutch, the 
English colonists in New England still pressed onward ; 
extending their offshoots into the region of Connecticut, 
and even assailing the Dutch colonists in the very vicinity 
of their forts. Hartford and New Haven had, in this 
way, already become flourishing villages ; and it was 
plainly the intention of the English to extend their set- 
tlements even to the Hudson. The rights of actual 
discovery and exploration, and of actual settlement and 
positive possession, which the Dutch justly asserted, and 
which the nations of Europe then held sacred, were thus 
utterly disregarded by the English, under the flimsy plea 
of a prior claim, founded on the bare circumstance that 
the Cabots, as before mentioned, had sailed past, — with- 
out being aware of it, — the coast of this portion of the 
American continent. 

Vigorous prosecution of the colonization of Long Island. — 
The encroachments of the English now began to extend 
themselves even to Long Island ; the eastern portion of 
which had been arbitrarily granted by the Plymouth 
company, in 1635, to the earl of Stirling, and disposed of 
by the agents of that nobleman. 

Director Kieft proceeded, therefore, to extend, on be- 
half of the Dutch West-India company, his purchases 
of the native proprietors, so as to secure the western 
portion of the island, and made grants of land, to a con- 
siderable extent, in Brooklyn and the vicinity. 

Reading Lesson XXXIV. 

Violent proceedings of the English at Hartford. — The 
following graphic scene, sketched in Mr. O'Callaghan's 
interesting work on the history of New Netherland, 
gives the reader a vivid impression of the spirit of the 
times, at this period of conflict between the colonists of 
the two nations which laid claim to the fertile valley of 
the Connecticut. 

" The spring of 1640 opened with a renewal of the 
differences between the Eno^lish and the Dutch on the 



ni3TORY.-1640 77 

Connecticut river, touching the title to the soil around 
fuit Hope. Commissary Op Dyck,* being about to 
make preparations for sowing the ground in the rear of 
that post, advised Mr. Hopkins, governor of Hartford, of 
his intention, and warned him, at the same time, against 
permitting any of his people to interrupt him. 

" Hopkins, however, pertinaciously denied the validity 
of the Dutch title to the land, and maintained that the 
English had acquired their title from the right owners, — 
that he was prepared to prove, by a chief of the Mo- 
rahtkans, residing near the Pequods, that the latter never 
owned the soil, and that the right owners had left for the 
purpose of obtaining assistance from their friends. 

" Op Dyck, on the contrary, insisted on the superior 
right of the company, — referred to their long possession, 
which dated many years before the English knew of the 
existence of the river, and to their purchase, which had 
been made with the approbation of the natives. Where- 
upon the English governor called on the Dutch commis- 
sary to exhibit his title. ' Show your right,' said he, 
' we are prepared to exhibit ours ;' adding, at the same 
time, that he was desirous to live in peace with the 
Dutch. 

" To all this Op Dyck responded in suitable terms. 
He wished only to use the company's lands. But to this 
neither the governor, nor the English people, would, in 
any wise, consent. On the contrai-y, the constable was 
sent with a posse of some ten or eleven men, who attack- 
ed the D^tch, on the following day, while ploughing the 
field in dispute, beat the horses, and frightened them so 
that they broke loose. They then returned, next morn- 
ing, and sowed the ground which the Dutch had ploughed. 

" Commissary Op Dyck protested forthwith; but gov- 
ernor Hopkins refused to make any reply to this protest, 
' as it was written in Low Dutch.' He called again on 
the commissary to produce his title. ' The king,' he said, 
' would support the English in their right, as firmly as the 
prince of Orange would the Dutch.' The commissary 
maintained that he was not bound to produce his title ; 
and as for the king of England, he well knew that his 
majesty did not desire to do anything that should injure 
another. 

* Pronounced, Op Dyke. 



78 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON XXXIV. 

" Hereupon, he took his departure, and sent a party to 
plant barley in the field. These were also driven off. 
Op Dyck then went himself to do the work ; but the 
English remained on the watch, and would not suffer him 
to proceed. 

" Evert Duyckingh,* another of the company's servants, 
having, in the meantime, succeeded in getting into the 
field, with a hat full of barley, commenced sowing the 
grain ; but had not proceeded far, when he was knocked 
down with an adze, from which he received a severe 
wound on the head. Op Dyck was, thereupon, obliged 
to withdraw his men, having previously warned the 
English of the injury and wrong which his masters had 
sustained at their hands. 

" These criminations and recriminations did not termi- 
nate here. The English were evidently determined to 
hunt the Dutch from the river. They therefore continued 
their aggressions in every possible shape, during the re- 
mainder of the year. They seized the horses and cows 
belonging to fort Good Hope and impounded them for 
trespass. The clergyman of Hartford seized a load of 
hay, which a Dutch driver was conveying to the fort, and 
applied it to his own use, without giving anything in re- 
turn ; and when the crop became ready for the sickle, 
the English drove off the man sent by the Dutch commis- 
sary to cut it down, and harvested it themselves. 

" It was in vain that Op Dyck protested, or the director- 
general remonstrated. They lacked either the will, or 
the means to vhidicate their rights ; and the people of 
Hartford treated them accordingly." 

This extract presents, in a striking light, the aggressive 
temper of the English, and the humane and patient yet 
persevering spirit of the Dutch. The peaceable submis- 
sion of the latter to many of the wrongs inflicted on them, 
is to be accounted for, in part, however, by the inadequacy 
of the Dutch force, to maintain the rights of their people, 
and, in part, also, by the extreme reluctance of the director- 
general to commit any overt act of hostility, which might 
embroil the two nations at home, and disturb the peaceful 
and prosperous traffic which was so highly prized by the 
peopje of Holland. The director-general seems, all along, 
to have understood that the company would sanction no 
♦ Pronounced, Dyking. 



HISTORY.-1640. 79 

act of hostility committed without their special authority. 
Hence the frequent parade and show of resistance, with- 
out any actual violence. 

The extent of the commission entrusted to the local 
authorities, seems, uniformly, to have been, to intimidate, 
but, on no account, to shed blood, or offer personal vio- 
letice. The colonists of the rival nation, taking advantage 
of this forbearance, seem to have regarded their oppo- 
nents as incapable of anything beyond bluster and protest, 
and to have acted under this impression, not less than 
that of the factitious claims of England. 

Reading Lesson XXXV. 

Farther attempts of the English to encroach on Long 
Island. — Director Kieft continued to extend, still farther, 
his purchases of land from the natives of Long Island, 
and to resist all attempts made by the English, to settle 
on the western part of the island. The extent of juris- 
dicticm claimed by the Dutch, was bounded, on the west, 
by the East River, and, on the east, by the present county 
of Suffolk. No resistance, therefore, was offered to the 
proceedings of the English, when they commenced their 
settlements at Southampton and Southold. 

Additional immunities offered to colonists. — The States 
General, desirous of still farther promoting the interests 
of New Netherland, by quieting the dissensions still ex- 
isting between the company and the patroons, proceeded 
to grant a new charter of privileges, still more liberal 
than the former, and to establish a more efficient admin- 
istration than had hitherto existed. The colonies were to 
be under the immediate control of a governor, a body of 
counsellors, and other officers, who were to act as efficient 
guardians of virtue and morality. One item in the new 
charter, appears, however, to have been at variance with 
the usually mild and tolerant spirit of Dutch legislation. 
This was, that no other religion should be publicly tol- 
erated or allowed, save that of the "reformed church" in 
the Dutch United Provinces. This virtual prohibition, 
seems, however, to have remained, in point of fact, a dead 
letter ; for we hear nothing of its ever having been en- 
forced. 

Origin of Indian hostilities. — The enlargement of the 



80 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSOX XXXV. 

I 

original charter of the company, while it promoted the 
growth and prosperity of the colony, tended to produce 
serious injury, in regard to communication with the In- 
dians. The new charter induced many adventurers, of 
doubtful character, to go among the natives, for the pur- 
pose of securing the advantages of the profitable traffic in 
furs, and to introduce among the simple sons of the forest 
their final bane, the use of intoxicating liquors. The 
English traders, also, furnished their Indian customers 
witli fire-arms and powder, which the company had strictly 
forbidden their servants to do ; and the colonies were 
thus left exposed to all the evils of warfai-e, under the 
most disadvantageous circumstances. 

Unfortunately, also, at this juncture, the director-gen- 
eral undertook the unwise measure of taxing the natives 
in corn and furs, or in wampum, for the alleged protection 
afforded them against their enemies, by the garrisons and 
forts of the colonies. This proceeding roused, as might 
have been expected, the wrath of the Indian tribes ; and 
they were by no means sparing either in their taunts or 
threatenings. 

The director-general, observing this state of affairs, 
deemed it necessary to issue an order, that every colonist 
should pi'ovide himself with arms, and hold himself in 
readiness for immediate muster, at a given signal. 

Hostilities commenced on the Raritan. — The outbreak 
of the long and harassing war that followed, was occa- 
sioned by the following circumstances. A watering party, 
belonging to a vessel trading southward, carried of!" from 
a plantation on Staten island, some hogs, the property of 
the company and of the planter. The Iqdians on the 
Raritan were blamed for the theft; and an armed party 
was despatched, under the command of the secretary of 
the colony at New Amsterdam, to levy damas^es. The 
party, on arriving at their destination, became disorderly, 
and, in spite of the remonstrances of the secretary, pro- 
ceeded to murder the unoffending Indians, and to burn 
their crops. Thus commenced, in wanton and cruel 
aggression, the hostilities which first disturbed the peace- 
able communication hitherto maintained between the 
Dutch and the native tribes. But, while the occurrence 
of such an event reflects disgrace on the European ag- 
gressors, it is, so far, satisfactory to know that the act 



HISTORY.— 1641. 81 

was not authorized by the administration of the colony, 
but perpetrated, by a lawless and mutinous body of indi- 
viduals, in open violation of express command. 

Reading Lesson XXXVI. 

Continued aggressions of the English. — A detachment 
from the colony at New Haven, in Connecticut, estab- 
lished themselves, in the spring of this year, on the Dela- 
ware and the Schuylkill rivers, notwithstanding the protest 
of the Dutch director-general. At Hartford, the violence 
of the English colonists was carried to extremes, which 
would have drawn down upon them an attack from a 
strong military force despatched from fort Amsterdam, 
had not the apprehension of Indian hostilities caused the 
detention of the troops. 

Patroon of State?i island. — Cornells Melyn,* a Dutch 
merchant, who possessed great influence with the directors 
in Holland, had, after visiting New Netherland, obtained, 
as patroon, a grant of Staten island, — with the exception 
of the land owned by captain De Vries, — and arrived, in 
August, 1641, prepared to take possession. A flourishing 
farm, (or "bouwerie,") and an extensive orchard, were, 
this year, planted at Hoboken. 

Commencement of hostilities, on the part of the Indians. — 
The Raritan tribe of Indians, determined to avenge the 
injuries they had suffered, in the attack committed on 
them, as formerly mentioned, retaliated by an attack on 
the plantation of De Vries, on Staten island, in which 
they killed four of his people, and burned his dwelling- 
I house and other buildings. 

Governor Kieft, enraged at what he deemed the treach- 
ery of this proceeding, — as the Indians were, at the time, 
proposing terms of peace, — pi'oceeded to excite the ad- 
joining tribes against the Raritans, by offering stipulated 
rewards, not only for the heads of the offenders, but of 
any members of the Raritan tribe. This measure was so 
far successful as to issue in the bringing in of the head of 
the sachem who had conducted the attack on De Vries's 
plantation ; soon after which event, a permanent peace 
was concluded with the Raritans ; and so faithfully was it 
kept by the latter, that, afterwards, when all others of the 
* Pronounced, Maylinc. 
D* 



82 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XXXVL 

surrounding tribes had united in hostilities against the 
Europeans, the Raritans alone remained friendly. 

Indian retaliation. — The colony of New Amsterdam 
was, not long after, thrown into the greatest alarm by the 
murder of a peaceful and aged man, perpetrated by an 
Indian. The savage, in the present case, was nephew to 
an Indian, wantonly murdered by some of director Minuit's 
people, many years before. The Indian custom of retri- 
bution or compensation, in such cases, had been over- 
looked by the authorities of the colony ; and the Indian 
law of justice and honor demanded a retributive act of 
vengeance, at whatever distance of time. On this estab- 
lished custom the savage had acted ; and when Kieft made 
a requisition on the chief of the tribe, for the surrender of 
the murderer, the answer was a decisive refusal, on the 
ground of national custom and equitable retribution. 

First " town-meeting'^ at New Amstcrdajn. — Kieft, whose 
personal dislike and hatred to the natives were deeply 
seated, was determined on vengeance. But, aware of 
the extensive evils which might result to the colony, and 
desirous of screening himself from blame, he submitted 
the whole affair to the decision of a meeting of masters 
and heads of families, residing in New Amsterdam and 
the vicinity. 

The answer returned, w'as, that it would be imprudent 
to attempt anything, at that season of the year, while the 
harvest was not yet secured, and the colonists and their 
cattle were scattei-ed abroad. It was suggested, however, 
that, in the meantime, all due preparation, in the way of 
arming and equipment, should be made, and every pre- 
caution taken to lull the Indians into security ; but to 
prevent, if possible, the evils of war, that the message 
demanding the surrender of the assassin, should be re- 
peated. Twelve men were appointed as delegates, to aid 
in carrying into effect the requisite measures. 

On the approach of winter, Kieft did not fail to remind 
the colonists of their engagements; as no concession had 
been made by the natives. But the prudent spirit of the 
people would not yet sanction any active measures ; and 
delay was still deemed advisable. 



HISTORY.— 1642. 83 

Reading Lesso.v XXXVII. 

preparations for attacking the Indians. — The winter of 
1641-42 having at length set in, Kieft again urged the 
subject of the murder, on the attention of the people ; 
and they, at last, assented to his wishes, after having 
stipulated for the personal presence of the governor, in 
the expedition, and the arrangement of a proper commis- 
sariat, which, in those primitive times of simple habits, 
extended only to a due provision of "bread and butter." 
The just, prudent, and humane spirit, so characteristic of 
" Fatherland," appears conspicuous in the language of 
the following stipulation, as translated in the pages of Mr. 
O'Callaghan's instructive history. The passage is an ex- 
tract from one of the documents obtained by Mr. J. Romeyn 
Brodhead, during his visit to Holland, while prosecuting 
the interesting researches which he conducted for the 
Historical Society of New York. 

" If it happened that God Almighty were pleased to 
permit one or more of the freemen to be wounded in the 
expedition, or in the attack on the savages, the noble 
director and council were to remain obliged to support 
such wounded persons, and their families, in a decent 
manner, and to have them cured at the expense of the 
provident company." 

- Representations of the " Twelve^ — Human history is, in 
no point, more uniform than in the fact that councils sum- 
moned by leaders, in emergencies, have usually taken 
occasion to volunteer their services as representatives, for 
the time, of the rights of the body of the people, whence 
they were selected. The arbitrary temper of director 
Kieft was, in this way, severely tried by some of the sug- 
gestions offered by his special council of Twelve, whom 
he proceeded, with all haste, to dismiss, not without due 
commendation of their zeal and readiness in relation to 
the interests of the colony, but, at the same time, with a 
very explicit assurance that any farther meeting or pro- 
ceedings, on their pait, would subject them to Solomon's 
established remedy for the wonted aberrations of fools. 

The reformations suggested by the Twelve, seem, in 
many instances, to have been loudly called for. Kieft 
was accustomed, at all times, to act as autocrat of tlie 
colony. He had but one official aid and acting counsel- 



84 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSO:* XXXVIII. 

lor, La Montagne; and, to avoid the glaring impropriety 
of such a mode of conducting public affairs, he had called 
in occasionally, and at random, such of the commonalty 
as he thought proper, to make up the show of a colonial 
council. Ill his answer to the representations of the 
Twelve, while he petulantly challenged them to show 
proof of any injustice done by such aids to his delibera- 
tions, he admitted the importance of being supported by 
a suitable body of persons of consideration, and expressed 
his pleasure in the prospect of the arrival of such, duly 
appf)inted in Holland. 

Failure of the Dutch expedition against the India?is. — 
Kieft's first step towards inflicting chastisement on the 
Indians, was to despatch Van Dyck, ensign at fort Am- 
sterdam, with a band of eighty men, to ravage the pos- 
sessions of the Wickquaeskeek Indians, the tribe to which 
the offender belonged. 

Fortunately for the Indians, Van Dyck, a true marti- 
net, in the proprieties of warfare, made a regular halt, 
contrary to the wishes of his party, at a small stream on 
the borders of the territory of the offending tribe, instead 
of pushing on, at once, and taking the enemy by surprise. 
His guide, too, here missed the way, and Van Dyck, in 
a rage, returned to fort Amsterdam, without striking a 
blow. The natives, however, on tracing the foot-prints 
of the troops, perceived the peril they had escaped, and 
lost no time in suing for peace. The suiTender of the 
murderer, however, was never obtained ; as he had, in 
all probability, fled for jirotectiou to a distant tribe. 

Reading Lesson XXXVIII. 

Proceedings against tlie English intruders. — Irritated 
by the continued encroachments of the English, director 
Kieft formally prohibited all intercourse with the settle- 
ments in Connecticut. He despatched a force, likewise, 
to break up the recent attempt of the colonists from New 
Haven to establish themselves on the Schuylkill. The 
latter of these measures was rigorously executed ; and 
the settlers and their goods transferred to New Amster- 
dam and New Haven. In the latter place, the utmost 
indignation was expressed against the proceedings of the 
Dutch. 



HISTORY.— 1642. 65 

An unsuccessful attempt, on the part of the English, 
was made, in the summer of this year, to come to terms 
sf agreement and purchase, with the Dutch, for the lands 
irouud Hartford. But both the American and the Euro- 
pean parties interested, were still as far as ever from 
joming to satisfactory terms. 

Co?itinued immigrations froTn the English into the Dutch 
colonies. — The persecution which was encountered by 
some European emigrants, in the New-England set- 
lements, continued to drive them, for refuge, to those 
)f New Netherland. Additional companies of skilful 
md industrious agriculturists, were thus secured by the 
atter, especially on Long Island, Among those planted, 
his year, were the original settlements at Mespath or 
S^ewtown, and at Gravesend, formerly Gravenzande, — 
lo called after a village of that name, near the mouth of 
he river Maas, in Holland. The frequency of com- 
nunicalion with English people, in these and other 
(Vays, now rendered necessary the appointment of an 
English secretary at New Amsterdam. 

First stone church erected at New Amsterdam. — The 
lecayed condition of the church erected under Van 
Fwiller's administration, being now felt as a public 
lisgrace, director Kieft prosecuted, with great zeal, the 
•equisite measures for the erection of one more credit- 
ible to the colony. But his good intentions were, for a 
ime, thwarted by factious opposition, and by the general 
ilarm prevailing in regard to the danger of an attack on 
he colonies by the Indians. 

Hostilities with the Indians. — The apprehensions re- 
erred to, were founded on the efforts of the Narragan- 

ett chief, Miantonimo, to rouse the Indian tribes to form 
, general confederacy against all the Europeans now 
istablished on their borders. The utmost teiTor was 
:xcited throughout the colonies by the diffusion of this 

umor. 
Local incidents, however, precipitated the outbreak 

if hostilities between the natives and the Dutch. An 

ndian who had been robbed of a dress of beaver skins, 

vhile in a state of intoxication, took vengeance by the 

aurder of two white men. 
On applying for the surrender of the murderer, Kieft 

vas informed that the offender had fled to the Tanki- 



86 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XXXIX. 

tekes. This tribe was therefore cautioned by a formal 
message threatening hostilities. 

Massacre of the 2Qth February. — In the meantime, a 
powerful party of the Mohawks had invaded the river 
Indians, who fled, for protection, to Manhattan island, 
and the adjacent settlements. The destitute and suffei'- 
ing condition of these unfortunate beings, excited the 
compassion of most of the colonists. But a number were 
bent on retaliation for the unatoned murders before men- 
tioned, and succeeded in inducing the director to sanction 
a scene of midnight massacre, unparalleled for atrocity, 
in the colonial records of America. Upwards of a hun- 
dred Indians fell victims, in one night, to this horrid 
scheme. The murders thus pei'petrated were, by the 
unsuspecting natives attributed, at first, to the Mohawks ; 
as the deed was perpetrated at the dead of night. 

On the following day, the Indians having discovered 
their mistake, retaliated on a party of marauding colo- 
nists, and killed a Dutchman and his wife. A rescue 
of the remainder of the whites was effected, and several 
Indians slain, and a number taken prisoners. 

Reading Lesson XXXIX. 

Indian league formed for the extermination of the 
whites. — Some of the colonists on Long Island com- 
menced, not long after, a series of outrages on the 
natives in their vicinity ; and the consequence was an 
extensive alliance formed among the Indian tribes ad- 
joining the Dutch settlements, for the purpose of exter- 
minating them. 

The usual scenes of Indian atrocity followed : men, 
women, and children were murdered or captured ; the 
dwellings and barns of the settlers were burned ; their 
cattle were killed ; and their crops destroyed. 

Director Kiefs ■perplexities. — Kieft, and all who could 
escape the tomahawk of the natives, fled to the shelter 
of the fort, where a miserable company of widows and 
orphans daily rang their reproaches in the ears of the in- 
fatuated director. All his attempts to appease them were 
unavailing. His consent to the massacre of the unoffend- 
ing Indians, was universally regarded as the cause of the 
general sufferings ; and so high did the feeling of public 



HISTORY.— 1643. 87 

indignation run, that it was even proposed, at one time, 
to seize him, and send him home to Holland, for trial. A 
personal assault was made upon him by Maryn Adriaen- 
sen, one of the leading instigators of the massacre, on 
whom Kieft wished to lay the blame. Adriaensen was 
foiled in his attempt, by the seasonable interference of the 
bystanders, and was disarmed and committed to prison. 

The partisans of Adriaensen rallied for his rescue, and 
headed by his son, made an attack on the director, in 
which the youth Marynsen fired at Kieft, and was imme- 
diately shot down by a sentinel. A parley ensued, in 
which the terms demanded by the insurgents were refused, 
and Adriaensen was sent to Holland, for trial. 

After an interval of some years, we find, to our sur- 
prise, this same Adriaensen returning to New Amster- 
dam, and receiving from the hand of director Kieft, a 
grant of a tract of land, including what was then called 
Awishaken, (Weehawken.) 

Treatij of peace. — The return of spring reminding the 
Indians of the necessity of resuming their wonted occu- 
pations, they made proposals for peace, which issued in 
the ratification of a treaty, on the basis of mutual forgive- 
ness and amnesty. De Vries,. in whose veracity the In- 
dians reposed entire confidence, conducted this treaty, on 
the part of the Dutch, and thus secured, for a brief sea- 
son, a respite to his countrymen from the hoiTors of In 
dian warfare. 

Unsettled condition of Dutch and English claivis. — Mu 
tual remonsti'ances continued to be made by the colonists 
of both nations, in regard to the disputed territory on the> 
Connecticut river, but without any nearer approach to an 
amicable termination. The aspect of affairs, indeed, 
seemed less favorable than ever, to the interests of the 
Dutch. The English colonies had now formed a union, 
in which they bound themselves to support one another 
in all emergencies ; and they plainly intimated to the gov- 
ernment at New Amsterdam, their intention of adhering 
to their claims on the settlements in Connecticut. 

Hostilities resumed, on the part of the Indians. — The 
slight compensation made to the natives, for the injuries 
which they had sustained at the hand of the whites, was, 
even at the conclusion of the treaty, a subject of mur- 
muring and displeasure among the former. But the dis- 



88 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XL. 

satisfaction, ere long, broke out in open complaint.'', on 
the part of the Indians; and one of their chiefs, Pachaui, 
the leader of the Tankitekes, inhabiting around Haver- 
straw, proposed to the adjoining tribes a simultaneous 
rising for the massacre of all the Dutch. 

The Wappinecks, a tribe inhabiting the river region, 
midway between the Manhattans and fort Orange, com- 
menced the outbreak, with the murder of one of the crew 
of a trading boat, soon after its depai'ture from the fort. 
Two other boats shared the same fate. Several secret 
an<l inhuman murders were, about this time, perpetrated 
by the savages ; and several women and children carried 
off captives. 

Reading Lesson XL. 

Apjpomtment of the council of'''- Eight.''' — Conscious that 
he could effect nothing without the cooperation of the 
people, Kieft called a general meeting at the fort, and 
submitted, for consideration, the state of the colony, in re- 
lation to the hostilities resumed by the natives. A coun- 
cil of eight individuals was selected ; and this body pro- 
ceeded to enact several wholesome regulations, which, 
however, were not carried into effect ; and the lesult of 
their deliberations seems to have been, rather, a soothing 
effect on the popular mind, than anything active or effect- 
ual. For the present, however, the council agreed to 
meet, once a week, to report on the state of affairs. 

Indian ravages. — The ferocious spirit of the Indians, 
now took full scope, in deeds of destruction and blood- 
shed. Planters, on the outskirts of the settlements, fell 
victims, in large numbers, to marauding parties of the 
savages. So bold, indeed, had the Indians become in 
their assaults, tliat no place was safe which could not be 
protected by large numbers of the whites; and, in some 
instances, military outposts themselves were overpowered. 

Miseries of the colonists at fort Amsterdam. — The savage 
invaders now met with no impediment to their assaults. 
The few hundred settlers numbered in the colony, crowd- 
ed around the fort, which, with its dilapidated walls, and 
its paltry force of some fifty poorly-armed troops, unpro- 
vided with proper supplies of ammunition, afforded them 
but a nominal protection for their famihes, housed around 
in miserable huts of straw. 



H1STORY.-1C43. 89 

The council of Eight proposed several measures for re- 
lief, which, however, were thwarted by the headsti'oug 
director. An application for aid from New Haven, met 
with a refusal, on the ground of the obligations of the 
New-England colonies not to act independently of each 
other. 

Two memorials were, in the meantime, prepared and 
despatched to Holland. Of these, one was submitted to 
the " Nineteen" directors of the West-India company ; 
the other, to the States General. The language of these 
representations sets before us, in the most impressive 
light, the extremities to which the colonists at New Neth- 
erland were reduced. 

The two petitions now referred to, form a part of the 
historical documents furnished in the valuable work of 
Mr. O'Callaghan. The following brief extracts will serve 
to give an idea of their tenor. 

'* We, poor inhabitants of New Netherland, have now 
to complain, that having enjoyed, for a long time, an 
indifferent peace with the heathen. Almighty God hath 
finally, through his righteous judgment, kindled the fire 
:)f war around us, during the current year, with the In- 
dians, in which not only numbers of innocent people, 
■nen, women, and children, have been murdered in their 
louses, and at their work, and swept captives away, 
i whereby this place, with all its inhabitants, is come to 
he greatest ruin ;) but all the boweries and plantations at 
Pavonia, with twenty-five lasts (2700 bushels) of corn 
md other produce, have been burned, and the cattle de- 
troyed. 

" Long Island is destitute, also, of inhabitants and stock, 
ixcept a few insignificant places over against the main, 
vhich are about to be abandoned. The English who 
lave settled among us, have not escaped. They, too, 
xcept one place, are all murdered and burned." 

" No resistance is offered the enemy, for want of men, 
;,rms, and ammunition, with which this place is very 
lenderly supplied. The fort is defenceless, and entirely 
ut of order, and resembles, (with submission,) rather a 
lolehill than a fort against the enemy. On the other 
and, the enemy is strong and mighty. They have formed 
n alliance, one with another, with more than seven dif- 
lent tribes, well supplied with muskets, powder, and 



90 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XLI. 

ball, which they have procured and daily receive from 
private traders, in exchange for beaver; and with which 
they murder our people. The woods and the thickets 
are now also useful to them ; for they have removed all 
their women, children, and old men, into the interior. 
The rest of the warriors daily menace our lives with fire 
and sword, and threaten to attack the fort, with all their 
strength, — now consisting of fifteen hundred men. We 
have to guard this post at all hours ; for all the outside 
places are mostly in their hands." 

" While the people are ruined, the corn and all other \ 
produce burned, and little or nothing saved, not a plough - 
can be put, this fall, into the ground; so that not a hun- 
dred schepels will be sown hereabouts, and much less in 
the spring. If any provisions should be obtained at the 
east, from the English, we know not wherewith we poor 
men will pay for them ; while private traders have, for 
the last three or four years, drained us by their extortions, 
and made this country wretchedly poor; for this must 
follow, so long as the industry of the land is at a stand- 
still. 

" The cattle bein* destroyed, the dwellings burned, the 
mouths of the women and children must remain shut. 
We speak not now of other necessaries, such as clothes, 
shirts, shoes, and stockings. Matters, in fine, are in such 
a fix, that it will be with us according to the words of the 
prophet: — 'Who draws the sword, shall die of hunger: 
and cold.' " 

Reading Lesson XLI. 

Success of Dutch expeditions against the Indians. — The 
hardy spirit of the colonists, however, was not to be 
utterly depressed,- even by the extreme sufferings which 
their own representations so glowingly depict. During 
the severity of winter, in 1644, they despatched several 
parties to ravage the Indian possessions nearest to the 
fort. One detachment, sent to Staten island, succeeded 
in making capture of a large supply of coin. Another, 
despatched to Stamford, surprised and ravaged a village 
of twenty Indians. A third destroyed the forts of the 
Wickquaeskeeks, and brought in several captives, to be 
liberated in exchange. 

Dutch attack on Mcspath. — The colonists having learned 



HISTORY.— 1644. 91 

bat Pennawitz, a powerful chief of Long Island, was, in 
iolation of treaty, secretly aiding the hostile Indians, 
.1 murdering the whites, and ravaging their farms ; a 
trong body of men, composed partly of Dutch colonists 
nd troops, and of English settlers, proceeded to Heem- 
tede,* (Hempstead,) and Mespath or Matsepe, (now 
'Jewtown,) and, in a successful attack on these places, 
lew upwards of a hundred of the natives. This victory, 
owever, was, to the disgrace of the whites, followed by 
be perpetration of the most atrocious cruelties on the 
lersons of two of the unfortunate Indian captives, who 
rere put to death in the fiendish style practised by their 
•wn race. But, as these acts are said to have been per- 
armed in presence of director Kieft and counsellor La 
'lontagne, it was, perhaps, a measure adopted, under 
lie false impression that it would strike terror into the 
ndian enemy, by addressing their fears in a language 
^'hich seemed the only one which tliey could understand, 
js expressing the determination of the whites to prose- 
ute hostilities to the utmost. Otherwise, the sanction 
[iven to such deeds, by officers of the government, would 
irgue a degree of deliberate brutality to which history 
iffbrds few parallels. The report of this inhuman deed 
xcited extreme indignation in Holland. 

Destruction of the Indian force near Stanford. — The 
i]nglish captain, Underbill,! who had conducted the 
ttack on Heemstede, was sent out in company with 
nsign Van Dyck of the fort, at the head of a party of 
pwards of one hundred men, towards Stamforcl, where 
be enemy were ascertained to be encamped in great 
prce. The rigors of a night in February, increased by 
! heavy snow-storm, detained the force at Gi'eenwich ; 
nd it was not till ten o'clock, on the night of the follow- 
ag day, that the camp of the enemy was descried. 

The Indians seem either to have been taken by sui'- 
irise, or to have confided too much in their superiority 
\i numbers. Their first attempt was to break the Dutch 
jne by attack. But in this they utterly failed ; and within 
jne hour, nearly two hundred of the native warriors lay 
tretched before their wigwams, in the village streets ; 
^G bright moonlight affording a deadly advantage to the 

* Pronounced, Haimestaiday. 

t See the lil'e of Uuderhill, iu a subsequent part of this vohime. 



92 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSOiV XLII. 

fire-arms of the Europeans. Underliill, whether acting 
under the apprehension of his party exhausting their 
ammunition, and being tlius left at the mercy of their 
foe, by prolonging the attack, or with the recklessness 
too generally characteristic of the English, in regard to, 
the savage race, ordered his men to set fire to the wig-,: 
warns. The unfortunate natives soon fell victims, either 
to the weapons of their enemies, or to the flames which 
were consuming their own dwellings, into which they 
were either driven or voluntarily rushed back ; prefer- 
ring such a death to farther encounter with the whites, 
who offered no quarter. 

Five or six hundred of the Indians were cut off in this 
inhuman manner, and perished, in their heroic style, 
without yielding their enemies the satisfaction of hearing 
a sing^le crroan from the sufferers. 

Peace solicited hij the Indians. — Terrified at the losses <• 
which they had sustained, several of the surrounding n 
tribes now sent in delegates to sue for peace, which was i 
granted on strict conditions for the future safety of the 
colonies. But as many of the natives yet remained out, 
in avowed hostility, and no aid could be had from Hoi- i; 
land, — the States General devolving the whole affair on ' 
the company, and the latter having sunk into a condition 
of bankruptcy, — peace could not be considered as secure. 

Reading Lesson XLII. 

Renewed murmurs and representations against director 
Ivivft. — Perceiving the necessity of levying a tax, in some 
form, to retrieve the desperate state of the public finances, 
Kieft summoned, once more, a meeting of the " Eight;" 
and these, notwithstanding their reluctance, were com- 
pelled to impose a temporary excise on the princijjal 
articles of traffic and consumption in the colony. The ' 
necessity of levying this impost had become more urgent, ,i 
in consequence of the opportune arrival of a body of 'i 
troops from Cura5ao, whither they had resoi-ted, when hi 
driven from the former Dutch colony at Maranham. 
These troops, it was hoped, would prove an efficient 
protection against the Indians. But the embarrassed 
state, alike of the colony of New Netherland, and of the 
West-India company in Holland, rendered it a matter of 



HISTORY.— 1644. 93 

reat difficulty to equip and pay this force, so as to ren- 
er it available. Arrears were also due to the English 
:)ldiers who had served in the late expeditions under the 
ommand ofUnderhill. 

The levying of the beer-tax seems to have been a 
rominent grievance in the estimation of the colonists; 
nd loud and angry remonstrances were made against it. 
'he collection of it, however, was rigorously enforced by 
le director, in opposition to the will of the " Eight ;" 
nd the dissensions hence arising, at length divided the 
Zionists into two parties ; the minority siding with the 
irector, but the majority with the " Eight." 

The issue was, that the latter body, indignant at the 
irious official usurpations and mismanagements of Kieft, 
-forwarded a memorial of grievances to the company in 
[olland. But the unfortunate condition of the company's 
fairs at home, seems long to have prevented any atten- 
on being paid to the sufferings and injuries of their 
jlonies. 

Intervention of the States General, to regulate the affairs 
\ the colony. — The obvious mismanagement of the local 
iivernment at New Amsterdam, now called loudly for the 
itervention of the authority of the States General, the 
jpreme power at home. The West-India company was 
rcordingly directed to investigate thoroughly the condi- 
gn of the colony, with a view to an effectual reformation 
' the state of affairs. Among other beneficial measures 
iopted, was a resolution for the recall of director Kieft; 
shich, however, did not actually take place for some 
|,Tie, owing to the want of unanimity among the different 
Ifanches of the company. These, it will be recollected, 
lere scattered over various poi'ts and commercial entre- 
])ts of the United Provinces, and were naturally jealous 
i the preponderance acquired by the controlling action 
i the chamber of commerce at Amsterdam ; nor did 
tey, on all occasions, readily coincide with the measures 
[i that body, which, indeed, in some instances, seem to 
I'.ve been both arbitrary and arrogant. 
I. The miserable condition of the colony, which the pre- 
C(lii)g narrative has depicted, was fully brought to light 
\ the investigation which took place ; and the States 
Isneral, as mentioned, enjoined on the company various 
I3asures adapted to retrieve the sinking condition of the 



94 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON XLIH. 

colony. Among these, were an enlargement of the di- 
rector's council, with a view to avoid the evils of arbitrary 
rule, on his pait; a speedy adjustment of the points in 
dispute between the Dutch colony and those of New 
England ; an amicable arrangement with the Indians ; a 
change in the mode of establishing colonists, so as to bring 
them into villages and communities, for mutual protection ; 
the repair of fort Amsterdam, to such extent as to render 
it available in case of hostilities ; and the arming of the 
colonists, so as to render their aid to the limited military 
force, effectual, in case of attack from any quarter. Per- 
mission was granted to the deputies of every colony, to 
meet the director, once in six months, for the purpose of 
reporting the condition of their respective settlements, 
and to concert measures for the general good. Emigra- 
tion was to be countenanced, as one important means of ; 
strengthening the colony. But, unhappily, the emigra-ij 
tion of hired laborers was to be discouraged as less profit- 
able than the purchase and importation of slaves, — a 
measure which was again enjoined as conducive to the 
welfare of the colonies. 

Reading Lesson XLIII. 

Subjugation of the Indians of Long Island. — Several of 
the Indian tribes continuing their hostile acts, it was re- 
solved, in spring, 1645, to hire the services of a powerful 
chief of the Mockgonecocks of Long Island, — a tribe on 
friendly terms with the whites, — and thus reduce to sub- 
jection, or to peace, the hostile parties. The task im- 
posed on the friendly sachem, was promptly performed ; 
and while some of the native tribes voluntarily submitted, 
others were brought to terms by force. The Matinne- 
cock Indians, then occupying the regions now known as iij 
Flushing, Glen Cove, Cold Spring, Huntington, and Cow 
Harbor, were among those comprehended in the measures 
of pacification and amity. i 

Compact with the Mohatvks. — Governor Kieft, now! itj 
anxious to extend his influence over the formidable Mo- ^i 
hawks around fort Orange, repaired to that post, with a iii 
view to securing a firm and lasting treaty with that tribe. 
This desirable result was obtained through the aid and 
cooperation of the local authorities of the chief settlement 



HISTORY.— 1645. 95 

in the colony of Rensselaerswyck, — the now flourishinp- 
:ity of Albany, — the legislative capital of the State, — but, 
;hen, struggling with the usual impediments of an infant 
3Stablishment in tire wilderness. 

A large number of the sachems of the river tribes and 
3f those of Long Island, met the director and the colonists, 
in solemn conclave, on the 30th day of August, and, with 
ill the usual Indian formalities of smoking the calumet, 
ind attesting the sun and ocean, ratified, on their part, a 
secure and lasting peace, which the Dutch, in turn, pledged 
;hemselves honorably to maintain. Not long after, a day 
jf public thanksgiving was appointed, in acknowledgment 
Df the favor of Divine Providence, by which the blessing 
jf peace had been vouchsafed. 

Acquisition of additiojial territory. — Purchases were, 
ibout this time, made from the natives, of valuable tracts 
jf land, with a view to extend the settlements of the 
colony. By these w^ere secured, for possession by the 
whites, Conynen, or Rabbit's Island; Gowanus,* Mespath, 
Dr Newtown, which was at first called Vlissingen, (Flush- 
iig,) after the town of that name in Holland ; and Gra- 
v'enzande, now Gravesend, but originally bearing the 
ibrmer designation, in honor of the ancient seat of the 
jourt of the counts of Holland. 

Appointment of Peter Stuyvesant as director. — The con- 
I'ollers of the West-India company, had, it will be re- 
nembered, resolved on the recall of director Kieft, whose 
iialead ministration had subjected the colony to so much 
iuffering. They had even conferred, in advance, the 
ippointment of director on Van Dinclage, who had 
Deen, for years, prosecuting, without success, his claims 
igainst the company ; but whose intimate knowledge of 
i;olonial affairs had probably secured him the appoint- 
ment. 

'' Previous to any decisive or final arrangement, on be- 
'lalf of Van Dinclage, a more suitable candidate for the 
iffice about to be vacated, was found, in the person of 
r'etrus or Peter Stuyvesant, afterwards so prominent a 
haracter in our early colonial history. This individual, 
■v'hile discharging the office of director, or governor, of 
Ouracao, attempted to reduce the Portuguese colony on 
he island of St. Martin ; and, having received a severe 
♦ Pronounced, Gotoawnus. 



9G NEW-YORK CLASS-nOOK.— LESSON XLIII. 

wound, during the siege, was obliged to return to Hol- 
land, for surgical aid. After a tempestuous voyage, in 
which he had to put into an Irish harbor, he reached 
home, and, in the following summer, succeeded in obtain- 
ing medical relief, so far as to be able for active duty. 
The company, impressed with his well-known character 
for energy and activity, conferred on him, instead of Van 
Dinclage, the appointment of director of the colony of New 
Netherland. 

The newly-appointed director submitted to the com- 
pany various measures calculated to promote the interests 
of the colony. These were approved and sanctioned by 
a special committee. A leading feature in the proposed 
changes, was an obvious design to render New Nether- 
land the head-quarters of Dutch colonial power in thej 
western world. Dissensions again arose among the| 
" chambers" which composed the branches of the com- 
pany ; and the chamber of Amsterdam seems to hav€ 
usurped to itself the sole direction of affairs, in regard tc 
the colony. The departure of the new director was de] 
fisrred, in the indefinite expectation of a future period of 
greater harmony and more decisive action. 

Extinction of the quarrel between Mr. Bogardus and di\ 
rector Kieft. — The rancorous disputes and bickerings, anc 
the open public abuse, which, to the disgrace of the colonyl 
had so long passed between the chaplain and the directo/ 
of the colony at fort Amsterdam, came to such a height, li 
the early part of the year 1646, that the director not onlj 
absented himself from public worship, as the only way tc 
avoid personal vituperation from the pulpit, but, at last 
determined to put an end to the scandal, by a publi^ 
prosecution of the chaplain. The interference of friends 
however, and the prudent counsels, it is surmised, of Mi 
Megapolensis,* the officiating clergyman of Rensselaersi 
wyck, then on a visit to fort Amsterdam, composed thesf 
unhappy differences of the two officials, whose feuds had 
so long embroiled the community. 

* The notes of tliis worthy divine and accomplished scholar, ar 
among the valuable sources of information regarding the early cor 
dition of New Nethei'land. 



HISTORY.- 1646. 97 

Reading Lesson XLIV. 

EncroacJiments qftJie Swedes. — The disquiet and irrita- 
tion of director Kieft, seemed destined to know no end, be- 
tween the encroachments of the New Englanders, on the 
one hand, and of the Swedes, on the other. The latter, 
by successive negotiations, had obtained, of the natives, 
a nominal claim to a tract of country on the Delaware, — 
then called the Great South River, as the Hudson was the 
North River, in reference to the boundaries of New Neth- 
erland. This tract extended thirty German miles, in 
length ; and, in width, its extent was indefinite. This 
region the claimants had named, in honor of their native 
land. New Sweden ; and queen Christina, then the sov- 
ereign of the parent country of the colonists, showed spe- 
cial favor to the enterprise of her subjects who had, in her 
name, and with her authority, made this accession to her 
dominions. 

Printz, the Swedish governor, at this period, had re- 
ceived from his queen, on his appointment in 1642, full 
powers to use the military force at his command, in case 
of violence being offered by the Dutch. He had estab- 
lished his principal fort at Ti^^nicum, or New Gottenburg, 
about twelve miles belovv the site of Philadelphia, and 
had erected another at the mouth of Hog creek on the 
eastern bank of the Delaware, which was called Elsinburg 
or Elsboro-. These forts gave him entire command of the 
mouth of the Delaware. A third means of annoyance to 
any hostile ^orce, yet existed in fort Christina, which Peter 
Minuit. when in the service of Sweden, had erected on the 
Minquaas creek. Finally, the fort of Beversrede, at the 
mouth of the Schuylkill, originally erected by the Dutch, 
but afterwards seized by the Swedes, rendered the Swed- 
ish governor perfectly master of the Delaware and the 
adjacent country ; so that the insignificant fort, (Nassau,) 
on the east bank of the Delaware, was all the foothold 
now retained by the Dutch, in that quarter. 

UnaiKiiling resistance of Andreas Hudde* to tlie Swedish 
governor. — The struggles of the Dutch West-India com- 
pany at home, and of the now feeble colony at New Am- 
sterdam, were alike unavailing, to resist the high-handed 
measures of the Swedish governor. In 1646, however, a 
* Pronounced, Hoodday. 

E 



98 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XLV. 

Stubborn resistance to tbe exclusive claims of the Swedes, 
to the possession of the Delaware, was offered by the new 
Dutch commandant at fort Nassau, Andreas Hudde. This 
individual had been sent to supersede the foimer gov- 
ernor, Ilpendam, a man whose quiet disposition was 
deemed to have disqualified him from holding a post so 
beset by bold and vigilant enemies. 

The earnest remonstrances of the new commandant, 
however, did not avail anything against the deteimined 
spirit of the Swedish governor, Printz, who persisted in 
ordering off a vessel despatched from New Amsterdam, 
for the purpose of trading with the natives on the Schuyl- 
kill ; and the efficient force at the control of the Swed- 
ish commander, rendered any attempt at resistance nuga- 
tory. 

A like discomfiture followed the attempt to secure 
possession of a tract of land opposite to Egg island, which 
had been purchased by Abraham Verplanck and others 
of New Amsterdam, with a view to establish a plantation 
there. The company's insignia, which had been erected 
on the spot, were decpiiefnily torn down by the Swedes ; 
and an angry correspondence, in the spirit of mutual defi- 
ance, ensued between the rival parties. On one occasion, 
Hudde's messenger was received with threats, and even 
personal violence; and, not unfrequently, the traders, on 
calling at the fort, were beaten and driven off. The 
Dutch commissary, however, from the want of a sufficient 
force, was compelled to submit to these iiidio-nities with 
no other relief than bitter complaints forwarOod to New 
Amsterdam. 

Reading Lesson XLV. 

Continued encroacJiments of the New Englanders. — A 
company of Connecticut adventurers established a tra- 
ding post, this year, at Magdalen island, on the east side 
of the Hudson, below Redhook, in Dutchess county. 
Against this encroachment on the territorial rights of the 
company, Kieft made a firm protest, accompanied by a 
plain intimation of a resort to force, if rendered neces- 
sary, for the recovery of what had, in this and other 
instances, been usurped. The Connecticut governor 
Eg.tQn, while he disclaimed all personal knowledge of 



HISTORY.— 1C46. 99 

the infringement complained of, atlmitted the fact of 
a settlement having been established on the Paugusset, 
or Naugatuck, river, on the site of the present town 
of Derby, but maintained the rightfulness of this pro- 
ceeding, as founded on purchase from the natives, within 
the proper limits of the English colonies. 

The commissioners of the New-England colonies, 
meeting, not long after, at New Haven, the subject 
was fully submitted to them. A harsh and angry cor- 
respondence ensued, in which director Kieft displayed 
not a little ill temper, and a style of language more re- 
markable for low humor, and broad, graphic effect, than 
gubernatorial dignity. The low state of the company's 
treasury, however, would not permit any resort to meas- 
ures involving expenditure for the maintenance of dis- 
puted rights ; and Kieft, in answer to his grievous com- 
plaints, was enjoined to exert continued vigilance, but 
not to let his resistance amount to open violence. 

Grants of Katskill and Yonkers. — Patents were, this 
year, granted by Kieft and his council, to two indi- 
viduals, for eminent public services in connection with 
the pacification of the Indians; to Cornelis Van Slyck* 
of Breukelen,t the lands adjacent to the Katskill, not- 
withstanding the legal claims of the patroon of Rens- 
selaerswyck ; and to Adriaen Van der Donck a tract then 
called Nepperhaem, — now, Yonkers. 

Incorporation of Breukelen. — The inhabitants of the vil- 
lage of Breukelen, (now Brooklyn,) were authorized, this 
year, to elect two or more magistrates, for the proper 
regulation of their affairs ; and a local " schout," (sheriff,) 
dependent, however, on the company's officer at New 
Amsterdam, was commissioned to aid them in the dis- 
charge of their duties. 

General condition of the colony of New Netherlands at 
the close of Kieft's administration. — The greater part of 
the Dutch population had, up to this period, been ab- 
sorbed in the business of the fur trade ; agriculture had 
been neglected ; and to these evils had been added the 
misrule of director Kieft, and the devastating calamity of 
'he war with the Indians. The settlement of the country 
bad been thus retarded, and the growth and prosperity 
jf the colony kept down. Mr. O'Callaghan, the faithful 

* Pronounced, Slyke. t Sometimes spelled, Breuckelcn. 



1 00 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XLV. 

and intelligent historian of this period, considers it doubt- 
ful whether the colony, at the close of Kieft's administra- 
tion, contained more than a thousand souls. The mass 
of the inhabitants, he says, were far from wealthy ; the 
immigrant population principally so poor as to require 
pecuniary aid, at the outset of their settlement. The 
dwellings of the inhabitants around the forts, were most- 
ly small, low, wooden buildings, with thatched roofs and 
wooden chimneys. 

Agricultural settlements, comparatively prosperous, 
had been established by the English, at the eastern ex- 
tremity of Long Island. Among these were conspicuous 
the towns of South Hampton and South Old.* The 
plantations established by the Dutch, at the western 
extremity of the island, were also in a flourishing con- 
dition, as contrasted with many in other quarters : these 
now comprised Breukelen, (Brooklyn ;) Arnersfort, (Flat- 
lands;) Gravenzande, (Gravesend;) Vlissingen, (Flush- 
ing ;) Heemstede, (Hempstead ;) Mespath, (Newtown ;) 
and Gowanus. Bergen, and other settlements on the 
Jersey side of the river, had been principally devastated 
by the Indians. Albany, (then Beverswyck,) contained, 
as yet, but ten houses. The country between Rens- 
selaerswyck and the Manhattans, was yet an unbroken 
wilderness. The labors of the plantation were generally 
performed by African slaves, who, though kindly treated, 
were regarded as strictly the property and chattels of 
their ownei's, and, as such, were bought and sold. 

The sturdy resistance sometimes offered to the over- 
bearing rule of director Kieft, and the free exercise of 
speech, by which he was habitually annoyed, served to 
show that the Dutch settlers I'etained a sense of their 
original rights, as members of the free communities from 
which they were sprung. Holland was, at this period, 
the model republic of the world ; and the colonists of 
New Amsterdam, although subjected to the narrow scope 
of colonial privileges, were not forgetful of the venerated 
customs of their fatherland. 

Unfortunately, the headstrong and arbitrary spirit of 

director Kieft, received little check from his limited 

council, and little effectual opposition from a community 

too generally addicted to the licence of colonial life. 

* '\^'rittell, ill modem style, Sovfhampton and Southold. 



EARLY HISTORY OF ALBAiW. 101 

But, in the colony at large, we find satisfactory traces of 
the spirit of freemen, 

" Who know their rights, and, knowing, dare maintain." 

The prevalent influence of free institutions, was, in 
fact, silently preparing the way for that union of interests 
and relations, which subsequently took place between the 
Dutch colonies and those of repubhcan New England. 
The main evils under which the colony of New Nether- 
land was now suffering, were plainly attributable to the 
personal character and habits of director Kieft ; and the 
arrival of their new ruler, Stuyvesant, was therefore 
anxiously looked for, by all. 



SEC. IV.— EARLY HISTORY OF ALBANY. 

Reading Lesson XLVI. 

Colonization of the Manor of Rensselaers^cycJc — Among 
the invaluable services rendered by Mi-. O'Callaghan to 
historical investigation connected with the early colonial 
history of New York, is the exact and instructive sketch 
which he has given us, in his History of New Netherland, 
of the establishment and progress of the colony of Rens- 
selaerswyck, in which was unfolded the germ of the pres- 
ent city of Albany, the scene of so many events, and* 
associated circumstances, of the highest interest to the 
people of this state. Mention was made, in a preceding 
page of the present volume, of the efforts made, by indi- 
viduals in Holland, — in consequence of the immunities 
offered by the charter of 1629, — to secure the privileges 
attached to the nominal dignity of patroon, in the colony 
of New Netherland. 

The most eminent and the most successful of those who 
embarked in such undertakings, was, it may be recollect- 
ed, Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, pearl-merchant of Amster- 
dam, ancestor of the distinguished American family of 
that name. 

Arrival qftlie colonists. — " Early in the spring of 1630," 
says Mr. O'Callaghan, in the account before mentioned, 
" a number of colonists, with their families, and provided 
with farming implements, stock, and all other necessaries, 
sailed from the Texel, in the company's ship the Eend- 



102 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XLVL 

racht,* captain Jan Brouvver,t commander, and arrived, 
in safety, at the Manhattes, after a passage of sixty-four 
days. In a short time afterwards, they landed at fort 
Orange, in the vicinity of which they were furnished with 
comfortable farmhouses and other dwellings, at the ex- 
pense of the patroon and his associates. Other settlers 
followed, with additional stock, each succeeding season ; 
and thus were laid the foundations of those moral, wealthy, 
and prosperous settlements which we now behold in and 
around the present city of Albany." 

Administration of justice. — The organization of the 
colony, for purposes of civil jurisdiction, is interesting to 
the reader of our early history, as furnishing an instructive 
specimen of colonial administration under a patroon. On 
this dignitary and proprietor were conferred rights and 
privileges resembling those assumed by the feudal nobility 
of Europe. He was authorized to preside personally, or 
by deputy, at the administration of justice, whether civil 
or criminal. The laws recognized in the colony were the 
Roman civil code, by wliich the continental countries of 
Europe were then, and are still, governed ; the ordinances 
of the company and of the director-general, and his coun- 
cil, together with those of the patroon and local directors. 

Principal officers of the colony. — Among the prominent 
officers of the new colony, were Jacob Albertsen Planck, 
ffirst sheriff, and Arendt Van Curler,| commissary- general, 
or superintendent. The latter was distinguished for his 
personal qualities, as a man of great dignity of character, 
cultivated mind, and humane disposition. These traits 
gave him a vast ascendency over the natives, whose rev- 
erence for him was unbounded. He was held in high 
esteem, also, by the English governor, Nicolls ; and, on 
the surrender of the colony of New Netherland to Great 
Britain, was consulted in the rearrangement of public 
affairs. The French governor of Canada, count De 
Tracy, also manifested the highest regard for him, and 
invited him to an interview at Quebec. The Indian 
tribes around Albany manifested their profound respect 
for him, by using his name as their appellation for all 
subsequent governors of New York. 

* Pronounced, Aindraht. f Broocr. 

\ Pronounced, Coorler, and sometimes spelled CorZaer, or corruptly, 
Corlear. 



EARLY HISTORY OF ALBANY. 103 

While prosecuting his journey to lower Canada, he 
was drowned in a storm on lake Champlain, in the year 
1667. His death was mouined, as a public loss. He 
resided principally on his farm above Albany, but owned 
valuable property in Beverswyck, as it was then called, 
and took an active part in the settlement of Schenectady. 

Character and condition of the colonists. — The emigrants 
who left Holland, to establish themselves in this portion 
of the new world, were, partly, planters who came at 
their own expense, and, partly, farmers and farm servants, 
sent out at the charge of the patroon, and aided by him, 
in their endeavors to establish themselves. The assistance 
afforded, in these cases, was liberal and effectual. It 
extended to providing suitable houses and barns, and 
even to an advance of stock and implements of husbandry. 
In consideration of such aid, a rent was received in the 
form of grain, beaver-skins, and wampum, or a certain 
portion of the produce of the farm. Some of the stipula- 
tions, in detail, however, savored strongly of the feudal 
spirit, not then extinct in Europe, — such as the tribute, 
annually, of a few pounds of butter, as an acknowledgment 
of the patroon's rights ; the obligation to have all corn 
ground at the patroon's mill only ; the prohibition against 
hunting or fishing without his license ; and the assertion 
of his right to succeed to the estates of persons who died 
intestate. 

Prosperity of the colony. — The generous spirit, however, 
of the patroon, and the integrity of the colonial officers, 
rendered Beverswyck* comparatively prosperous, as a 
trading and agricultural settlement. 

Reading Lesson XLVII. 

Van der Donck appointed sheriff. — This individual, so 
prominent in the early history of the colony, succeeded 
Planck, in the year 1641. He was a man of some con- 
sideration, in his native country, but seems to have been 

* The names successively given to this settlement, as it waxed from 
,\ hamlet to a village and a town, ■were the Fuyck, (pronounced, 
Fiike. and signifying crescent, — so called from the curving bank of the 
i\ii-,) Beversfuyck, — Beverswyck; from the original abundance of 
icuvcr, there. In 1664, on the surrender of the country to England, 
t acquired, in compliment to the duke of York and Albany, the name 
which it now bears as a city. 



104 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XLVIL 

bent on prosecuting his own interests, rather than those 
of the pati-oon, in his proceedings in the colony. 

The Rev. Johamies Megapolensis* — The patroon, anx- 
ious to promote the prosperity of his infant colony, induced 
Johannes Megapolensis, an eminent divine and pastor, to 
emigrate to Kensselaerswyck, and take charge of the 
spiritual interests of the colonists, and, likewise, of the 
heathen inhabitants of the adjoining region. A provision, 
highly liberal for that day, was made for his creditable 
and comfortable support. 

First chtirch built in Albany. — To presei've his colony 
from the disasters which had befallen the scattered popu- 
lation on Manhattan island, and to facihtate attendance at 
church, as well as to keep the settlement compact, the 
patroon ordered the establishment of a ferry, near the 
foot of the Beaver's Kill, for the convenience of the set- 
tlers established on the opposite bank of the river, at' 
Tuscameatick, now Greenbush. Thus originated the ex- 
isting ferry. It was farther ordered, that no new settle- 
ments should be made, remote from the site of the church ; 
and the burying-ground, to preserve it, in case of an 
attack from the Indians, had its location as a " church- 
yard." The whole settlement was still farther secured 
by the guns of the adjoining fort Orange. 

Infringement of the j^o-troon^ s 7tionoj)ohj. — The chief ob- 
ject of attention, as yet, with the great proprietors of 
New Netherland, was, everywhere, the fur trade carried 
on with the natives. The monopoly of this traffic was, in 
all instances, specially reserved for the patroons, or to 
such of the settlers as should purchase permission. But 
the temptation to embark in it, unauthorized, was too 
sti'ong for the honor of many of the colonists ; and a sys- 
tem of smuggling soon became very general. 

Van der Donck, whose duty it was to suppress such 
illicit traffic, seems, for private ends, to have connived at 
its continuance rather than made any effectual attempt to 
check it. His culpable negligence excited much dissat- 
isfaction in the mind of the upright Van Curler, who con- 
sequently incurred the resentment of the sheriff; and so 
far did the latter carry his rancor, as to attempt, by unjust 
influence on the colonists, to obtain the commissary's re- 
moval from office. His machinations, however, recoiled 
* Pronounced, Yohdnnas Meggapolen'sis. 



EARLY HISTORY OF ALBANY. IOd 

on himself; and he was ultimately divested of his appoint- 
ment, as well as foiled in his attempt to establish himself 
as a patroon at Katskill, by secretly anticipating Van 
Rensselaer's arrangement for purchasing the lands there, 
of the natives. 

Fort erected at Beards island. — The patroon, deteiTnined 
to secure his rights, in regard to the fur trade, now forti- 
fied a post and trading-house at Beeren or Bear's island, 
— the suuthern extremity of his possessions, and placed it 
under command of Nicolaus Coorn,* with authority to de- 
mand toll of all passing vessels, and the lowering of their 
colors, in token of their recosrnition of the rijThts of the 
patroon. 

A hardy skipper of fort Amsterdam, however, daring 
to pass the fort, in spite of the warning of Coorn, the 
latter fired upon his vessel, and actually pierced the com- 
pany's flag. The authorities at fort Amsterdam, deeming 
this a gross insult to the company, summoned Coorn to 
appear before them. He, however, seems to have suc- 
cessfully defied their endeavors to intimidate or restrain 
him, and persisted in enforcing what he deemed the rights 
of the patroon, till the death of the latter, in the year 1646. 

Retirement of Van der Donck. — On the death of the 
patx-oon. Van der Donck was superseded by Coorn, as 
sheriff of the colony. The former, not long after, losing 
his dwelling-house by fire, was invited by the humane Van 
Curler to take up his residence with him. But a quarrel 
ensuing, in regard to the charging of the loss, whether to 
Van der Donck or the patroon. Van der Donck was 
ordei-ed to leave the house. He repaired to fort Orange, 
and, afterwards, to the Manhattans, and forwarded his 
claims for reparation, to the company in Holland. 

Seizure of the patroon' s ship, at fort Amsterda?n. — Ths 
patroon, desirous to put a stop to the illicit trafiic in furs, 
carried on by private individuals, despatched in 1644, a 
ship amply supplied with all articles in demand with the 
natives. Tliis vessel happening to arrive when the priva- 
tions attending the war with the Indian race were at their 
worst, and the soldiers of fort Amsterdam in a state of 
destitution ; a requisition, in the style of martial law, was 
made and enforced on the supercargo, Pieter Wyncoop,t 
for a supply of shoes for the garrison. The affair did not 
• Pronounced, Coin. t Winecope. 

E* 



106 



NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XLVIII. 



Stop here. The authorities at the fort seized the arms 
and ammunition found on board, as contraband. The re- 
monstrances of Van Curler were utterly unavailing ; and 
he was compelled to submit to a compromise, by which 
the confiscated articles were to remain in possession of 
the authorities. The vessel, not long after, sailed for 
Holland ; and Van Curler returned to present the matter 
to the patroon. 

The cut annexed will serve to give a tolerably correct 
idea of the style of architecture prevalent in the dwellings 
of the early Dutch inhabitants of Albany, subsequent to 
the primitive era of log cabins. 




SEC. v.- ADMINISTRATION OF DIRECTOR STUYVESA NT.— 1647-1664. 

Reading Lesson XLVIII. 

Administration of Peter Stuyvesant. — An end was, at 
length, put to the misgovernment of Kieft, by the arrival 
of his successor, Peter* Stuyvesant, who commenced his 
administration, about the end of May, 1647. The char- 
acteristic energy of the new director, was fully put to the 
proof, and his mind kept in perpetual anxiety, by the in- 
cessant inroads of the old intrudei's on the territory of 
NewNetherland, — the New Englanders, at the north, and 

* The Latin and Dutch form of this name, (Petrus,) is that whicli 
occurs in the early colonial records. 



HISTORY.— 1650. 107 

r 

the Swedes, at the south. To these sources of disquiet 
were now added the encroachments of the English from 
the colony of Mai'yland ; lord Baltimore claiming, on the 
South River, the whole region between latitudes 38° and 
40°, from sea to sea. To embroil, still farther, the state 
of colonial affairs, an agent of the heirs of the earl of 
Stirling, was now asserting their right to Long Island, iu 
virtue of an English grant. 

Seizure of fort Cashnir hy the Swedes. — The Swedish 
governor, Printz, had, during his administration, protest- 
ed against the right of the Dutch to erect fort Casimir, 
built on the site of Newcastle ; and governor Risingh, 
the successor of Printz, succeeded by stratagem, — -pre- 
tending a friendly visit, — in introducing a body of troops, 
and obtaining possession of the fort and its appurte- 
nances. 

Successful exjjedition of Stuyvesant against the Sicedes 
Oil the Delaware. — Determined to retrieve the rights of 
the company, and the honor of New Netherland, Stuy- 
vesant, in the month of September, 1655, arrived in the 
Delaware, with a competent force, retook fort Casimir, 
and compelled Risingh himself to surrender fort Chris- 
tina, and to return, with the majority of his countrymen, 
to their native land. An end was thus put, so far as 
Sweden was concerned, to all interference with the rights 
of the Dutch to the possession of the region now consti- 
tuting the state of Delaware. 

Government of the colony of South River. — The country 
thus rescued from usurpation, was put under the control 
of a vice-director, whose residence was fixed at fort Cas- 
imir, now called Nievven Amstel ; and, in 1658, William 
Beekman, the vice-director, was empowered to purchase 
and fortify cape Hinlopen. 

Assertion of lord Baltimore's claim to the possession of 
the lands on the South River. — In September, 1659, ar- 
rived at Niewen Amstel, a commissioner despatched by 
governor Feudal of Maryland, to claim the whole region, 
for lord Baltimore, and to warn off the Dutch, as in- 
truders. The claim was firmly resisted by Beekman ; 
and colonel Utie, the English commissioner, withdrew, 
with the intention, as was thought, of returning with an 
invading force, to compel a compliance with his orders. 

Lord Baltimore, however, hoping to succeed by peace- 



108 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON XLIX. 

able means, applied, within the following year, to the 
West-India company in Holland, for the purpose of ob- 
taining their order, directing the colonists on the Dela- 
ware to submit to his authority. This application, as 
might have been expected, was peremptorily refused. 

Reading Lesson XLIX. 

Grant of Ncio Netherland by Charles II. — Measures 
were now iu preparation, abroad, which were destined 
to cause the downfall of Dutch authority in the colony of 
New Netherland. Charles II, of England, whose disso- 
lute and reckless habits made the transfer of a distant 
colony an *5asy affair, on any terms, conferred, in March, 
1664, on his brother, the duke of York and Albany, and 
on Sir George Carteret of the isle of Jersey, the whole 
domain of New Netherland ; complimenting the paten- 
tees with assigning the names of New York and New 
Jersey to their respective grants. 

Preparations in old and Nciu England for taking pos- 
session of New Netherland. — An armament of four vessels, 
under the direction of Richard Nicolls and Sir George 
Carteret, as commissioners, was accordingly despatched 
for the purpose of taking possession of New* Netherland. 
Intelligence of this expedition had reached both Boston 
and New Amsterdam ; and supplies for the refreshment 
of the fleet had been voted at the former place, and such 
preparation made as circumstances would permit, for 
resistance, at the latter. 

The ships having parted company, Nicolls and Car- 
teret landed in Massachusetts bay, and after writino- to 
governor Winthrop of Connecticut, requesting his aid, 
proceeded to Boston, to make similar demands on o-qv- 
ernor Endicott. These requisitions were, though re- 
luctantly, complied with, to a certain extent. 

Negotiations regarding the surrender of the colony. — 
Director Stuyvesant, when the English squadron made 
its appearance in the lower bay, anticipated the move- 
ments of the commissioners, by a formal letter of inquiry, 
regarding the purposes of the expedition. Commissioner 
Nicolls, in answer, announced his design of taking pos- 
session of the colony, whether by peaceable or forcible 
measures. 



HISTORY.— 1C61. 109 

Stuyvesant's brave and fiery disposition could not brook 
;he proposals for submission ; and he remonstrated and 
•esisted to the last, notwithstanding the dissuasions of his 
council. The conclusion of his long and vehement pro- 
est, is as remarkable for its strong natural eloquence, as 
"or its manly firmness. The following is his language, in 
he passage to which we refer. 

" And in case that you will act by force of arms, we 
>rotest and declare, in the name of our said lords, the 
states General, before God and men, that you will act 
m unjust violence, and a breach of the articles of peace, 
o solemnly sworn, agreed upon, and ratified by his 
najestie of England, and my lords, the States General ; 
ind the rather, for that, to prevent the shedding of blood, 
n the month of February last, we treated with captain 
Fohn Scott, (who reported he had a commission from his 
aid majestie,) touching the limits of Long Island, and 
loncluded for the space of a year, that, in the meantime, 
he business might be treated on, between the king of 
jrreat Britain and my lords, the high and mighty States 
general : and again, at present, for the hinderance and 
)revention of all differences and the spilling of innocent 
)lood, not only in these parts, but also in Europe, we 
)frer unto you a treaty, by our deputyes, Mr. Cornelius 
i^an Ruyven, secretary and receiver of New Holland ; 
[Cornelius Steenwick, burgomaster ; Mr. Samuel Mega- 
)olensis, doctor of physic ; and Mr. James Cousseau, 
leretofore shei'iff. As touching the threats in your con- 
ilusion, we have nothing to answer, only that we fear 
lothing but what God, (who is as just as merciful,) shall 
ay upon us ; all things being in his gracious disposall ; 
ind we may as well be preserved by him with small 
brces as by a great army; which makes us to wish you 
ill happiness and prosperity, and recommend you to his 
protection. My lords, your thrice humble and affection- 
ite servant and friend," (signed,) " P. Stuyvesant. At 
he fort at Amsterdam, the second of September, new 
.tile, 1664." 

Still hoping to avert the surrender of the colony, Stuy- 
vesant wrote, once more, proposing an accommodation. 
3ut Nicolls cut the matter short by a decisive answer; 
md the director, at last, acceded to a surrender, on the 
lole condition that the limits of the Dutch and English 



no 



NEW-YORK CLAS5S-BOOK.-LESSON XLIX. 



possessions should be ultimately settled by the European 
authorities on both sides. 

On the moi-ning of the 27th August, old style, the capit- 
ulation was signed by the commissioners of both parties 
at the director's " bowery," The terms of surrender 
were honorable and liberal. But the sturdy spirit of the 
director was manifested, to the last, in his refusing to 
ratify the act, till two days had elapsed. His Roman 
heart seems to have merited a happier issue than it was 
his lot to experience, in being compelled to surrender 
one of the noblest colonies of his native country. 

Origin of the name of " Neio York." — New Amsterdam, 
on its sui-render to England, took its present name, in 
compliment to the duke of York. As yet it consisted of 
but several narrow and short streets, skirted by a few. 
straggling plantations. Such was then the condition of. 
what is now the chief city of the union, and one of the i 
greatest commercial emporia of the world. 

Retiretnent of the eoc-dircctor. — The site of the farm of 
director Stuyvesant, was then remote from the town ; and 
to it he withdrew, — with what feelings we may judge, — 
preferring a life of retirement, on this side the Atlantic, to 
a return home, where the mortification attending his con- 
dition would be more exposed to lemark. His remains 




Governor Stuyvesant's House, on the Bowery. 



HISTORY.— 1665. 1 1 1 

were interred in a chapel which he had caused to be 
erected on his farm. 

Peaceable submission of the Dutch. — The transfer of the 
colony to the English, seems to have had but little effect 
on the limited population of the town. Most of the in- 
habitants remained, and became contented subjects of the 
new government. 

Reduction of the remoter settlements. — Sir Robert Can- 
took command of the detachment of the English force to 
which was assigned the reduction of the colony on the 
Delaware ; and Sir George Carteret that of the force 
designed for the reduction of fort Orange. These com- 
manders were successful in their respective undertakings ; 
and, on the surrender of fort Orange, the settlement there, 
now waxing to a town, received, as formerly mentioned, 
the name of Albany, in compliment to the duke of York 
md Albany. 



mAP. IV.— NEW YORK, UNDER THE SUPREMACY 
OF ENGLAND. 

8ec. i.— administrations of governors nicolls, lovelace, 
colve, and andros.— 1664-1682. 

Reading Lesson L. 

Character of the first English governor. — The colony of 
Mew Netherland, being now entirely under the control of 
he English, the government was assumed by commis- 
ioner Nicolls, who, during his short period of office, 
eems to have acquitted himself with honor and discre- 
ion, in the performance of his duties. 

Neic York incorporated as a city. — In June, 1665, the 
inhabitants of New York were incorporated, — though 
vithout the formality of a charter, till 1686, — under a 
nayor,* aldermen, and sheriff, after the manner of En- 

* The first mayor of New York was captain Willet, ancestor of 
■olonel Marimis Willet, mayor of the city in 1807. See the life of 
■aptain Willet, on a subsequent page. 



112 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON L. 

glish towns. But so judicious were the proceedings of 
governor Nicolls, and so easily did the Dutch and English 
civil ai-rangements coalesce, that everything went on 
harmoniovisly, notwithstanding the war, of two years' 
continuance, between England and Holland. The war, 
however, was terminated by the treaty of Breda, in July, 
1667. 

Nicolls returned, this year, to England ; leaving a rep- 
utation highly creditable to him, as an individual, not less 
than as a governor. 

^Administration of colonel Lovelace. — In May, 1667, 
Nicolls was succeeded by colonel Lovelace, a man of 
humane and affable qualities, who, like his predecessor, 
was highly esteemed by the people of the colony. 

Recapture of tlic colony hy the Dutch. — Charles II, of 
England, having dishonorably deserted his alliance with 
the Dutch, and united, in 1672, with Louis XIV, of 
France, then at war with that people, a Dutch squadron, 
at the close of July 1673, made its appearance off Staten 
island; and, — by secret communication with John Man- 
ning, the commandant of the garrison at New York, — 
succeeded in capturing the fort, without resistance. The 
Dutch power was soon reestablished and recognized, 
throughout the colony ; and governor Lovelace obtained 
leave to return to England. 

Resumption of the colony hy tJie English. — The new 
Dutch governor, Colve,* however, remained but a short 
time in office ; Holland and England having concluded a 
peace in February, 1674, the terms of which were, that 
all captured possessions, on both sides, should revert to 
their previous occupants; and, on the 31st of October of 
the same year. Sir Edmund Andros, the English governor, 
received the peaceable surrender of the colony which 
was thus placed under his power. 

Punishment of Manning for his treasonous surrender. — 
One of the first public acts of governor Andros, was to 
bring to trial, before a court martial, commandant Man- 
ning, who had so basely surrendered the fort at New 
York, to the Dutch squadron. The culprit seems to have 
found means, on an intermediate visit to England, to make 
his peace, in part, with the king and the duke of York ; 
for he suffered no farther penalty than degradation and 
* Pronoxmced, Colvay. 



HISTORY.— 1683. 113 

jisgrace. He was led to the city hall, in front of which 
ins sword was publicly broken over his head ; and he was 
there proclaimed incapable, thenceforward, of wearing a 
sword, or sustaining any public office. 

Character of Andros's administration. — The circum- 
stances in which Andros was placed, in his government 
of New York, gave little occasion for the manifestation 
of that arbitrary and tyrannical spirit which he manife.sted 
in New England. New York was the special province 
of the duke of York, heir apparent to the English crown ; 
and Andros was one whose servile spii'it was an effectual 
oarrier to any latitude of conduct, which might have 
displeased his superior, in the management of affairs, in 
1 colony which it was his interest, as far as possible, to 
:;onciliate. 

Removal of Andros. — The government of East Jersey 
lad, in 1675, been entrusted, by Sir George Carteret, to 
lis relative Philip Carteret, who was now, (1680,) exer- 
cising jurisdiction there. Andros disputed the right of 
he latter, and, in the quarrel which ensued, went so far 
IS to imprison him in New York. This unauthorized 
md arbitrary act is thought, by some, to have been the 
ihief cause of the removal of Andros fi'om his office ; as 
lis proceedings, in this affair, were disapproved in Eng- 
and. But there could have been no very great dissatis- 
action actually felt ; for Andros was merely transferred 
o the honorable post of governor at Boston. 

SEC. II.— ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR DONGAN.— 1683-1688. 

Reading Lesson LI. 

Character of governor Dongan. — Colonel Thomas Don- 
an, though appointed governor in September, 1682, did 
lot arrive till the end of August, in the following year. 
'^He was a gentleman of polished and conciliatory deport- 
ment and sound principles ; and although, as a professed 
;atholic, he could not be so acceptable, as he might other- 
vise have been, to a community consisting chiefly of 
)resbyterians, he was regarded with much respect and 
jood will, for his personal qualities and official conduct. 

It was under his enlightened administration that the 
)eople were first permitted to elect representatives, and 
snjoy their due place in the management of public affairs 



114 NEW- YORK CLASS-EOOK.-LESSON LI. 

Dongan's proceedings in this matter, however, seem to 
have been expressly authorized by his superior, the duke 
of York, to whom earnest petitions for the recognition of 
popular rights, had been previously made, and to whom 
a formal letter of grateful acknowledgments, was duly] 
forwarded by the sheriffs of New York, in the name of 
the community at large. 

Hostilities bcticeen the French and the Five Nations. - 
The victorious career of the Indians of the Five Nations! 
in their attempts to subjugate the surrounding tribes, hac 
all along excited the greatest apprehension, in the minds 
of the French colonists of Canada, for the safety of theii 
possessions. Hostilities, in fact, had existed between the 
French and the natives, from a very early date. Thia^ 
warfare, in the infant condition of the French coloniesj 
had well nigh proved fatal to them ; as the tribes wit! 
whom they wei-e at war, were formidable both for numl 
bers and valor. 

Governor Courcelles* had, in autumn, 1665, despatched 
a force to ravage the territory of the Mohawks. But this 
body of troops, from ignorance of the country, imperfect 
equipment, and deficient supplies, reached Schenectady 
in a state of utter exhaustion; and, but for the humane in-| 
terference of Van Curler, the Dutch commissary at Al-j 
bany, so distinguished for his peaceful mediation betweer 
the European settlers and the natives, — they would have 
been cut off", to a man, by the Mohawks. 

A more formidable force was, in the spring of the 
following year, sent into the country of the MohawksJ 
but with no effectual results ; as the red men retired to| 
their inaccessible fastnesses, leaving only their aged anc 
helpless to the mercy of the enemy. 

Feeling the utter uselessness of their attempts to re- 
duce or punish their enemies, the French concluded a 
peace with them, in 1667 ; and, for successive years, pur- 
sued an advantageous traffic with the Indians ; but, at 
the same time, took care to protect their settlements 
against invasion, by a line of eflfective fortifications. 

Courcelles had, on the eve of his return to France, in 
1672, obtained permission of the natives to erect a fort on 
lake Ontario. This his successor, count Fi'ontenac, com- 
pleted ; and the fort continued long to bear his name^ 
* Pronounced, Coorsell. 



HISTORY.— 1684. 115 

t was, at length, in 1678, rebuilt with stone, by M. De 
I Salle, who first launched vessels of European con- 
.ruction, on lakes Ontario and Erie, and commenced a 
)rt at Niagara. 

Governor Dongaii's communicaUons witJi the Indians. — 
. leading feature in the policy of colonel Dongan's ad- 
linistration, was the judicious care which he bestowed 
n the relations of the colony with the natives. He 
bems, moreover, to have pursued an independent course, 
igarding the instructions of his government at home, 
he Romish partialities of the English monarch, induced 
im to enjoin it on the governor that he should aid the 
rench, in their hostilities with the natives. This he de- 
ined doing; being aware of the unfriendly disposition 
the French towards the English, which, about this 
me, was manifested in their stirring up the Indians to 
tack the western settlements of Maryland and Virginia, 
his aggression gave occasion for the great convention 
3ld at Albany, in 1684. 

At this convention, a treaty of amity was formed be- 
feen the English and the Five Nations ; and governor 
ongan, — true to its stipulations, disregarded the injunc- 
ijn of his government, to facihtate the hostile measures 
the French, then intending to invade the Indian coun- 
^, — sent information of this intention, to the Indians, 
d gave them assurances of his readiness to assist them 
any emergency. 

Reading Lesson LIT. 

Failure of De la Barrels expedition against the Five 
itions. — De la Bane, then governor of Canada, pro- 
leded, with a force of seventeen hundred men, to lake 
(itario ; but, being long detained by the sickness of his 
t)ops, at fort Frontenac, and poorly supplied with pro- 
■vion, he found it necessary, in the exhausted state of 
li army, to conclude a treaty, at which the Indians 
ride no scruple of freely expressing their contempt for 
ti French, lay the mouth of Garrangula, chief of the 
(londagas. But circumstances admitted of no redress. 

The galling eloquence of the Indian orator, on this 
ccasion, is preserved in the following passage from 
j.dge Smith's History of New York, — one of the valu- 



1 1 6 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON LII. 

able sources of authentic information regarding the colo- 
nial period with which we ai'e now occupied. 

At the convention for forming the treaty, governor De^ 
la Barre had closed his address in threatening language. 

" Garrangula heard these threats with contempt, be- 
cause he had learned the distressed state of the French 
army, and knew that they were incapable of executing 
the designs with which they set out ; and, therefore, after 
walking five or six times round the circle, he answered 
the French governor, in the following stj-ain : 

' Yoiinondio,* I honor you ; and the warriors that are^ 
with me likewise honor you. Your interpreter has 
finished your speech : I now begin mine. My words 
make haste to reach your ears : heai'ken to them. 

' Yonnondio, you must have believed, when you left 
Quebec, that the sun had burned up all the forests,* 
which render our country inaccessible to the French,! 
or that the lakes had so far overflowed the banks, thab 
they had surrounded our castles, and that it was irnpossi-i 
ble for us to get out of them. Yes, Yonnondio, surely 
you must have dreamed so ; and the curiosity of fleeing 
so great a wonder has brought you so far. Now you are* 
undeceived ; since I, and the wai'riors here present, arei 
come to assure you, that the Senecas, Cayugas, Ononda-i 
gas, Oneidas, and Mohawks, are yet alive. 

' I thank you, in their name, for bringing back into their' 
country the calumet, which your predecessor received^ 
from their hands. It was happy for you, that you leftf 
under ground that murdering hatchet which has been so 
often dyed in the blood of the French. 

' Hear, Yonnondio, I do not sleep, I have my eyeS' 
open ; and the sun which enlightens me, discovers to me 
a great captain at the head of a company of soldiers,- 
who speaks as if he were dreaming. He says that he 
only came to the lake to smoke the great calumet withi' 
the Onondagas. But Garrangula says that he sees thei 
contrary ; that it was to knock them on the head, if sick-, 
ness had not weakened the arms of the French. 

* I see Yonnondio raving in a camp of sick men, whosei 
lives the Great Spirit has saved by inflicting this sickness^i 
on them. Hear, Yonnondio, our women had taken theiri 
clubs, our children and old men had carried their bowSj j^ 
* The Indian appellation of governor De la Barre. tv 



HISTORY.— 1G84. 117 

and arrows into the heart of your camp, if our warriors 
had not disarmed them, and kept them back, when your 
messenger came to our castles. — It is done ; and I have 
said it. 

' Heal", Yonnondio, we plundered none of the French, 
but those that carried guns, powder, and ball to the 
Twightwies and Chictaghicks, because those arms rriight 
have cost us our lives. Herein we follow the example 
of the Jesuits, who stave all the kegs of rum brought to 
our castles, lest drunken Indians should knock them on 
the head. Our warriors have not beaver enough to pay 
for all these arms that they have taken ; and our old men 
are not afraid of the war. — This wampum belt preserves 
my words.* 

' We carried the English into our lakes, to trade there 
with the Utawawas and Quatoghies, as the Adirondacks 
brought the French to our castles, to carry on the trade 
which the English say is theirs. We are born free; we 
neither depend on Yonnondio nor Corlear.t 

' We may go where we please, and carry with us 
whom we please, and buy and sell what we please : if 
your allies be slaves, use them as such, command them 
to receive no other but your people. — This belt preserves 
my words. 

' We knocked the Twightwies and Chictaghicks on the 
head, because they had cut down the trees of peace, 
which were the limits of our country. They have hunted 
beavers on our lands : they have acted contrary to the 
customs of all Indians ; for they left none of the beavers 
alive, they killed both male and female. They brought 
the SatanasJ into the country, to take part with them, 
after they had concerted ill designs against us. We have 
done less than either the English or French, that have 
usurped the lands of so many Indian nations, and chased 
them from their own country. — This belt preserves my 
words. 

' Hear, Yonnondio : — what I say is the voice of all the 

* Every topic introduced in the public speech of an Indian orator, 
was indicated, as formerly mentioned, by the delivery of a wampum 
belt, by reference to which every subject was recalled to memory. 

t The Indian appellation of the governor of New York, — given, as 
fonnerly mentioned, in honor of Van Curler, or Corlear, the commis- 
saiy at Albany, and the great friend of the Indians. 

t By the French called Sauounons. 



118 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LIII. 

Five Nations. Heai" what they answei*, — open your 
ears to what they speak. The Senecas, Cayugas, Onon- 
dagas, Oneidas, and Mohawks say, that when they buried 
the hatchet at Cadaracqui, in the presence of your pred- 
ecessor, in the middle of the fort, they planted the 
tree of peace in the same place, to be there carefully 
preserved, that, instead of a retreat for soldiers, that fort 
might be a rendezvous for merchants ; that instead of 
arms and ammunition of war, beavers and merchandise 
should only enter there. 

' Hear, Yonnondio, take care, for the future, that so 
great a number of soldiers as appear there do not choke 
the tree of peace planted in so small a fort. It will be a 
great loss, if after it had so easily taken root, you should 
stop its growth and prevent its covering your country and 
ours with its branches. I assure you, in the name of the 
Five Nations, that our warriors shall dance to the calumet 
of peace, under its leaves, and shall remain quiet on their 
mats, and shall never dig up the hatchet till their brother 
Yonnondio or Corlear shall either jointly or separately 
endeavor to attack the country wliich the Gieat Spirit 
has given to our ancestors.' " 



Rkading Lessox LIII. 

Prorccdings of tlic French governor, De Nonvillc. — The 
manjuis De Nonville, De la Barre's successor in the gov- 
ernment of Canada, brought with him a fresh supply of 
troops from France, and, with high expectations of suc- 
cess, commenced operations against the Indians. To 
secure the French establishments against both the natives 
and the English, he proposed the erection of a strong 
stone fortification at Niagara. Governor Dongan, observ- 
ing his intentions, protested against these proceedings, as 
obstructing the English right of trade, and encroaching 
on the English territory. He intimated farther his readi- 
ness to support the confederated tribes of the Five Na- 
tions, as allies of England, against any attack made ujjon 
them by the French. 

Dc Nonville's expedition against the Senecas. — The 
Indian confederates were meditating retaliation on tlie 
Twightwies, or Miamis, for certain acts of hostility, insti- 
gated by the French. De Nonville determined at once 



HISTORY.— 1687. 119 

to protect his allies, and anticipate the hostilities of the 
confederates, by invading the territory of the Senecas, one 
of the most formidable members of the Indian league. 
Resolved to strike an effectual blow, he concentrated at 
Montreal, in 1687, a force of two thousand troops and six 
hundred Indians. 

Emboldened by these extensive preparations, the 
French officers stationed on the lakes, seized and impris- 
oned two parties of English traders; notwithstanding the 
stipulations of the existing treaty between France and 
England, for open traffic with the natives. 

The first victims to the French invading force, were two 
villages of the confederates, the inhabitants of which had 
yielded to the invitations of the French, and established 
themselves near to lake Ontario. Of these unfortunate 
beings part were abandoned to the savage cruelties of 
their enemies, — the natives in alliance with the French, 
[and part were transported to the galleys in Europe. 

Stratagem and successful resistance on the fart of the 
\Senecas. — De Nonville's army, setting out from the fort 
at Cadaracqui, marched without obstruction to the prin- 
cipal village of the Senecas, in anticipation of making an 
easy conquest of their retreating enemy. But the retreat. 
;was only a feint; and when the French had just passed 
the village, the Seneca warriors, to the number ot five 
hundred, sprang from their ambush, and, attacking their 
unsuspecting enemy in front and rear, made dreadful 
havoc among them, till checked by the reserved force of 
ijlndiaqs in alliance with the French. 

ij This disastrous repulse so discouraged the French 
Icommander, that, after burning the villages and corn of 
[the adjacent region, he threw up a fort on the southeast 
fpide of the straits at Niagara, and, having posted there a 
Igarrison of a hundred men, withdrew the body of his 
Ijarmy, and desisted from farther hostilities. The force 
jwhich he left, was strictly blockaded by the Indians, and, 

Ivith the exception of a small remnant, ultimately perished, 
hrough famine. 
Governor Dongan's interview with the chiefs of the con- 
federates at Albany. — Not long after the unsuccessful ex- 
pedition of the French, colonel Dongan met the chiefs of 
the Five Nations at Albany, cautioned them, once more, 
against the approaches of the French, and gave them as- 



120 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LIV. 

surance of his protection and support, if they would ab- 
stain from any negotiation with the French, unless after 
having duly consulted with him. 

The confederates retaliate on the French. — Soon after i 
the interview mentioned, the Mohawks and Mahicanders, 
or River Indians, made an assault on fort Chambly, burn- 
ed several houses, and carried off many captives. A party 
of Onondagas surprised some French soldiers near fort 
Frontenac, and seized them, as hostages for the safety of 
the Indians sent to the French galleys. 

In reply to the messenger sent to open negotiations 
with the Onondagas, in 1688, colonel Dongan declared, in 
their name, that no peace could be made with any of the f 
Five Nations till the captured Indians were returned, the 
French forts razed, and satisfaction made to the injured 
Senecas. 



Reading Lesson LIV. 



I 



Negotiation with the confederates at Montreal. — King 
James II, who now occupied the English throne, being 
friendly to France, would not support governor Dongan, 
in his endeavors to secure the dependence of the Five 
Nations on the crown of England, but commanded him td\ ■ 
use exertions to induce the confederates to make peace, i 
with the French. | 

A cessation of hostilities, and an exchange of prisoners, , 
were accordingly brought about, and a great council held . 
at Montreal, at which it was stipulated that the French i 
might supply fort Frontenac with provisions, and have ! 
their allies among the Indians secured from hostility. . 
The Mohawks and Senecas, who had absented themselves ) 
from the council, were, it was stipulated, to send in their : 
concurrence. 

Renewal of hostilities between the French and the Indians. 
— An unexpected cause prevented the long continuance 
of peace betweeru the contending parties. Adario, the 
chief of the Dinondadies, — a tribe which had lately fallen i 
off from the French interest to the English, — apprehensive ' 
that the occasion of peace might be used to punish the '•. 
defection, resolved to embroil the French and Indians 
anew, and to ingratiate himself with the former. To ac- 
complish his treacherous scheme, he attacked a body of 
ambassadors belonging to the Five Nations, on their way 



S.i 



8 cen 



tior.; 

L 

leu:: 



HISTORY.— 1688. 121 

to holil communications with the French. Some of these 
he killed, and informed those of them whom he took pris- 
oners, that he had received his information of their pass- 
ing, from the French governor. Indignant at the appa- 
rent treachery of that officer, the confederates determined 
on a bloody revenge. 

Invasion of Montreal by the covjcderates. — On the 26th 
of July, 1688, they landed with a large force, on the south 
side of the island of Montreal, surprised and massacred 
the French, burned their houses, and devastated their 
farms. A few of the whites were resei-ved to suffer the 
horrors of torture at the stake. A second attack was 
made, in the month of October, and the devastation of 
the lower part of the island completed. Many hundreds 
of the French perished miserably, in these merciless at- 
tacks. 

Such was the terror inspired by these savage atrocities, 
that the garrison on lake Ontario hastily abandoned their 
fort to the enemy, and, with difficulty saved themselves 
by a precipitate retreat to firmer strongholds. Nothing 
but the inability of the Indians, to conduct a systematic 
blockade or siege, preserved, at this time, the French 
settlements from utter destruction. 



SEC. III.— ADMINISTRATION OF LEISLER.— 1688-1690 

Discontents at Nciv YorJc. — The gi-eat majority of the 
inhabitants of New York being either of Dutch or En- 
glish origin, were much dissatisfied with the apparent as- 
icendency of the Roman-catholic religion, among the offi- 
Icers of the government. The partiality of king James for 
jthe Romish faith and worship, had led l;im to confer office 
principally on individuals of that persuasion ; and the col- 
onists began to fear for the infringement of their religious 
jrights. As yet, however, no active movement took place, 
on the part of the colonists ; although it was now under- 
stood that the people of England were, — from apprehen- 
sions similar to their own, — already engaged in negotia- 
tions for inviting over William, the protestant prince of 
Orange, to take possession of the throne. 

Leislcr's Insurrection. — News, at length, arrived that 
the people of Boston, aware like themselves of the rriove- 
ment in England, and impatient of the misgovernment of 

F 



122 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK— LESSON LV. 

Atidros, had risen and seized his person, and sent him 
home to England. This intelligence stirred up some of 
the more active spirits in the colony of New York, to 
attempt a rising in favor of the prince of Orange. 

The leader, in this movement, was Jacob Leisler, an I 
individual not personally competent for the conduct of so 
important a step as a colonial revolution, but guided by . 
the advice of his son-in-law, Milborne, an Englishman, a|| 
man of greater intelligence, although not of so active and "^ 
energetic a temper. 

Leisler seizes the garrison. — As a captain of militia, ] 
Leisler, taking advantage of the customary practice of , 
having the militia mount guard at night, entered with a I 
body of forty-nine men, resolved to hold possession till i 
the whole militia of the province should declare in favor 
of his movement. This step was a bold one ; for Leisler, 
although popular with the majority, was, by no means, a 
leader whom the officers and magistrates of the colony 
would choose to follow. The result, therefore, remained, 
for some days, doubtful ; and the moie so that governor 
Dongan, who had shortly before resigned his office to the 
charge of his lieutenant Nicholson, was yet lingering- in 
the bay, previous to his departure for Eno-land. 

Success of Lcisler's movement. — At this crisis, a false 
report of the arrival of a squadron from England, with 
orders from the new sovereign, operated powerfully in 
favor of Leisler; and, on the 3d of June, 1689, brought 
to his support the mass of the people. Dongan, seeing 
farther delay fruitless, set sail for England ; and Nichol- 
son, fearing for his personal safety, withdrew from the 
place. 

Reading Lesson LV. 

Leisler's communication to England. Authentic in- 
formation of the accession of William and Mary, having, 
at length, reached America, Leisler assumed the directicm 
of affairs, and sent over an address recounting the meas- 
ures which, in conjunction with the people oflhe colony,', 
he had taken. But Nicholson, who had speedily em- • 
barked for England, having anticipated the arrival of the 3 
bearer of the colonial despatches, had so artfully colored i 
his 'representations of them, that little regard was paid to • 
Leisler and his coadjutors, and no reward conferred for r 



HISTORY.— 1689. 123 

tlieir zealous and effective services ; vi^hile Nicholson 
found means to secure for himself the government of 
Virginia. Dongan, soon after his return to England, re- 
tired to his estate in Ireland. 

Resistance to Leisler's authority. — The former officers 
and magistrates of the colony, resenting the authority- 
assumed by an individual so humble as Leisler, withdrew 
to Albany, and there endeavored to excite opposition to 
his measures. To counteract the effect of such proceed- 
ings, Leisler enlarged his council, and, to a certain ex- 
tent, abstained from the exercise of personal authority. 
In this state of affairs in the colony, a despatch arrived 
from England, with instructions addressed to Nicholson, 
or his representative, for the administration of the local 
government. This document Leisler received, as virtu- 
ally addressed to himself, and proceeded to act according 
to its directions. 

Overtures of the Neiv-En glanders on Long Island. — 
The inhabitants of the eastern part of Long Island, 
desirous of profiting by the change of administration, 
made overtures, at first, to be received under the pro- 
tection of the colony of Connecticut, from which many of 
them had emigrated. These overtures, however, were 
declined ; and matters were quietly suffered to take their 
natui'al course, by which the whole island continued un- 
der the control of the government of New York. 

Reduction of Albany. — The people of Albany, influ- 
enced by the malecontents from New York, held out 
firmly against the attempts of Leisler to gain possession 
of the fort, and even solicited armed assistance from 
Connecticut, to enable them to retain it. Milborne was 
empowered to reduce the place, and though, at first, de- 
terred from the attempt, succeeded, at last, in securing 
possession. 

French scheme for the invasion of Neiv York. — War 
having broken out between England and France, the 
moment was deemed favorable for the invasion of the 
English colonies ; and a force was accordingly despatched 
for this purpose, under count Frontenac. On the arrival 
of the force, however, the disastrous accounts from Mon- 
treal discouraged the general from attempting any active 
measures for that season ; and, on the withdrawal of De 
Nonville, he succeeded to the charge of the duties of 



124 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LV. 

governor. Among other measures of security, he deemed 
it prudent to contract a treaty of peace and alliance with 
the Five Nations, in January, 1690. 

Attack on Schenectady. — Strengthened by the pacifica- 
tion of the confederates, count Frontenac ventured to 
send out invading parties against the English settlements 
in New York. One of these detachments, composed of 
a mingled body of French and Indians, succeeded in 
surprising and ravaging the village of Schenectady. 

Colonel Schuyler, at that time mayor of Albany, gave 
the following account of this tragic scene. 

" After two and twenty days' march, the enemy fell in 
with Schenectady, on the 8th of February ; and were 
reduced to such straits, that they had thoughts of sur- 
rendering themselves prisoners of war. But their scouts, 
who were a day or two in the village, entirely unsus- 
pected, returned with such encouraging accounts of the 
absolute security of the people, that the enemy deter- 
mined on the attack. They entered, on Saturday night, 
about eleven o'clock, at the gates, which were found un- 
shut ; and, that every house might be invested at the 
same time, divided into small parties of six or seven 
men. The inhabitants were in a profound sleep, and 
unalarmed, till their doors were broken open. Never 
were people in a more wretched consternation. Before 
they were risen from their beds, the enemy entered their 
houses, and began the perpetration of the most inhuman 
barbarities. 

" No tongue," says colonel Schuyler, " can express 
the cruelties that were committed. The whole village 
was instantly in a blaze. Women were barbarously 
murdered, and their infants cast into the flames, or 
dashed against the posts of the doors. Sixty persons 
perished in the massacre ; and twenty-seven were car- 
ried into captivity. The rest fled, naked, towards Albany, 
through a deep snow, which fell, that very night, in a 
terrible storm : and twenty-five of these fugitives lost 
their limbs in the flight, through the severity of the frost. 

" The news of this dreadful tragedy reached Albany 
about the break of day, and universal dread seized the 
inhabitants of that city ; the enemy being reported to be 
one thousand four hundred strong. A party of horse 
was immediately despatched to Schenectady ; and a few 



HISTORY.-1691. 125 

Mohawks then in town, fearful of being intercepted, were 
with difficulty, sent to apprise their own castles. 

" The Mohawks were unacquainted with this bloody 
scene, till two days after it happened ; our messengers 
being scarce able to travel through the great depth of the 
snow. The enemy, in the meantime, pillaged the town 
of Schenectady till noon of the next day ; and then went 
off with their plunder, and about forty of the best horses. 
The rest, with all the cattle they could find, lay slaughter- 
ed in the streets." 

Retaliation by the corifederates on tlie French settlements. 
— The French, in their assault on Schenectady, had 
abstained from offering any violence to the Mohawks in 
the vicinity ; as they hoped, in this way, to secure their 
friendship and to detach them from the English. But re- 
gardless of this exception, they rose in common with the 
other members of the confederacy, to avenge the suffer- 
ings of their ancient allies, and carried war and devasta- 
tion into the border settlements of the French. 



sec. iv.— administrations of governors sloughter, 
fletcher, and bell amont.— 1691-1702. 

Reading Lesson LVI. 

Governor Sloughter. — As early as January, 1689, colonel 
jHenry Sloughter had been commissioned as governor of 
New York. But, from various causes, he did not assume 
his new office till his arrival in March, 1691. Unfortu- 
nately for the colony, he proved unfit for the discharge of 
duties so arduous as those of governor of a disturbed 
colony, at a momentous crisis ; and his incapacity for any 
office involving high responsibility, was soon evinced. 

Condemnation of Leisler. — Governor Sloughter, on his 
arrival, met with an unexpected resistance to his author- 
ity, on the part of Leisler. This individual, although he 
knew of Sloughter's appointment, foolishly refused to 
surrender the garrison, or to give up Bayard and Nichols, 
whom he had arbitrarily imprisoned, for. their opposition 
to his proceedings. 

On a second demand of surrender, he deputed Milborne 
and another, to confer with the new governor. These 
:wo individuals were immediately seized as rebels ; and 
Leisler intimidated, withdrew from the fort, and was soon 



126 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON LVI. 

after apprehended and brought to trial for treason. He 
and Milborne were both found guilty, and condemned to 
death. 

Execution of Leisler and Milborne. — The enemies of 
Leisler, fearing that his partisans might rally for his res- 
cue, as the govei'nor was about to leave for Albany, suc- 
ceeded in inducing both the assembly and the council to 
advise the immediate execution of the criminals. Slough- 
ter, however, fearing the issue of so serious a step, in the 
case of men who had so zealously and effectually pro- 
moted the revolution, deferred giving his sanction to the 
sentence. But his consent was, at last, obtained when he 
was in a condition of inebriety ; and Leisler and Milborne 
were accordingly executed. Their estates, however, were 
afterwards exempted from the confiscation usual in cases 
of treason, and restored to their families, on the repre- 
sentations of Leisler's son, at the English court. The 
bodies of the deceased, moreover, were taken up, and 
honorably interred. 

Temporary government of captain Ingoldshy. — Govein- 
or Sloughter having died suddenly, the government de- 
volved, by legislative provision, on the president of the 
council. Joseph Dudley was entitled thus to administer 
the government of the colony, but yielded his right to 
captain Ingoldsby, whose chief public act seems to have 
been the holding of a council with the confederate In- 
dians, to encourage them to continue their hostilities with 
the French. 

Major ScJiuyler's expeditions against the French settJe- 
ments. — The war between England and France contin- 
ued to be vigorously prosecuted in the colonies. Major 
Schuyler led a force consisting in part of friendly Mo- 
hawks against the French settlements on lake Charoplain, 
and inflicted a signal defeat on a superior force of the 
enemy at La Prairie. 

Beaucour's encounter tvitJi a body of the confederates. — A 
distinguished young officer of the French, led, in the fol- 
lowing winter, a force of a few hundred men, through in- 
credible hardships, to attack a body of the confederates, 
at Niagara. The Indians, amounting to but eighty, 
fought bravely, but were cut off", nearly to a man. Their 
tribes, in revenge, continued their incursions on the 
French settlements. These they harassed to such an 



HISTORY— 1693. 127 

extent, that count Frontenac, exasperated by their cruel- 
ties, so far forgot^ the principles of humanity as to per- 
mit, in retaliation, the death of a captive, by extreme tor- 
tures, at the hands of the Indian allies. 



Reading Lesson LVII. 

Character of governor Fletcher. — On the 29th of August, 
1G92, colonel Benjamin Fletcher arrived with a commis- 
sion, as governor of the colony. Like some of his prede- 
cessors, however, he does not seem to have been a fit 
person to undertake the duties of such an office. He 
possessed the active habits of a soldier ; but he was pas- 
sionate and avaricious. It was more through his good 
sense in submitting to the guidance, and adopting the 
suggestions of major Schuyler, than any abilities of his 
own, that he succeeded in controlling the Indian tribes, 
whose action had now become- so important, for weal or 
woe, to the colony. 

Descent of the French on the Mohawks. — In January, 
1693, the French governor of Canada, despairing of effect- 
ing a lasting peace with the Indians, determined to strike 
an effectual blow at the Mohawks. He equipped, accord- 
ingly, an army of nearly seven hundred French and In- 
dians, for this purpose. This force, passing Schenectady, 
on the 6th of February, surprised the forts of the Mo- 
hawks, and returned with no fewer than three hundred 
captives. 

The people of Schenectady seem to have been culpably 
negligent about apprizing the Indians of their danger. 
But colonel Schuyler instantly set out with a volunteer 
force, from Albany, and overtaking the rear of the enemy, 
' succeeded in retaking a large number of captives. The 
French, in their retreat, fortunately found a portion of the 
north branch of the Hudson frozen over, by which they 
escaped to their own territory. Both armies endured, 
incredible hardships from famine ; as the provisions of 
the French had been exhausted by the length of their 
campaign, and the English, in the zeal of pursuit, had 
started with but a scanty supply. 

Governor Fletcher, hearing of the French invasion, 
hastened to the scene of action, and, in a very few days, 
was at Schenectady with a competent force of volunteers. 



128 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON LVIII. 

But the rapid retreat of the French rendered the move- 
ment unavaihng, any farther than to confirm the faith of 
the Indians in their alHes. In admiration of Fletcher's 
despatch, on this occasion, the natives conferred on him 
the appellation of the " great swift arrow." 

Disposition of the confederates toward peace with the 
French. — The influence of the French priests among the 
Indian tribes, was now so decidedly in the ascendant, 
that all but the Mohawks were brought over to a desire 
for peace; and the Oiieidas, in particular, made express 
and earnest application for it. The English governor, 
Fletcher, aware of the evil consequences of such a meas- 
ure, to the interests of the colony, did all in his power to 
prevent it, but without ultimate success. 

Reneival of hostilities. — For two years, the French con- 
tinued their endeavors to induce the Indians to make 
peace. But the latter gave a decided refusal to two of 
the stipulations proposed ; — one being that of liberty to 
rebuild fort Frontenac ; the other, to include, in the treaty, 
the Indians in alliance with the French. 

Enraged at the opposition to his purposes, which was 
so steadily manifested by the Mohawks, count Frontenac 
broke off negotiation, and proceeded to invade their terri- 
toiy. Apprized of his intentions, however, the Indians 
eluded his attempt ; and all he effected was the capture 
or death of a few straggling hunters near Niagara. The 
indehble stigma of atrocious cruelty, still attaches to the 
conduct of the French governor, in permitting his Indian 
allies to perpetrate their accustomed tortures on the cap- 
tives. 

Reading Lesson LVIII. 

Preparations for a united effort against the French. — 
Count Frontenac having succeeded in rebuilding the fort 
at Cadaracqui, it was felt to be necessary that a united 
and concentrated effort of all the English colonies should 
be made against the French. The cooperation of the con- 
federated Indians, was also secured by governor Fletcher, 
on a special visit to Albany. 

Peace between the Dinondadies and the Five Nations. — 
The French finding it difficult to supply and protect the 
Dinondadies, this tribe sued to the confederates for peace, 
and, to conceal their proceeding from the French, used, 



HISTORY.— 1697. 1 29 

for negotiators, the captives then in their power. One of 
these was seized by the French, and, — to the disgrace of 
the national name, — pat to death by the hands of Euro- 
peans, with worse than the fiendish atrocities of savage 
cruelty displayed by the Indians themselves. 

Frontenac's grand invasion of the country of the Five 
Nations. — Tlie aged governor of Canada was not to be 
repressed by weight of years, in his attempts to subjugate 
the hostile Indians. In 169G, he convened, at Montreal, 
his whole force of regulars, militia, and Indian allies, and, 
after dividing his army into the most serviceable and 
effective portions, for every species of operation, marched 
for the enemy's country, maintaining vigorously, through- 
out the expedition, the most systematic forms of European 
military science and display. Frontenac's first aim was 
the country of the Onondagas. 

But the natives had adopted the usual precaution of 
burning their village, and retiring into the impenetrable 
depth of the forests ; and all that this magnificent expe- 
dition accomplished, was but the destruction of a small 
store of Indian corn, and the inhuman sacrifice of a brave 
old chief, who had survived to the age of a hundred years, 
and who chose to remain, to show the enemies of his tribe 
how an Indian could die, under the most excruciating 
torments. The French commander, wishing to give an 
air of triumph to his return, basely took prisoners a few 
of the pacificated Oneidas, who had waited at their forts, 
to pay him due honor, as he passed. Unable otherwise 
to wreak his vengeance on the English, the old count 
continued to harass Albany and its vicinity by scalping 
parties, for which the confederates retaliated on Montreal, 
till the conclusion of peace by the treaty of Ryswick, in 
September, 1697. 

Goverywr Bellamont. — As early as 1695, lord Bella- 
; mont was appointed to succeed Fletcher, as governor of 
the colony of New York. But his commission was not 
j conferred till June, 1697 ; and, having encountered a 
I severe equinoctial gale, by which he was driven to Bar- 
! badoes, where he wintered, he did not arrive till April 
! of the following year. 

Lord Bellamont's commission was extended, with some- 
thing like vice-regal power, over Massachusetts bay and 
New Hampshire, as well as New York ; and, to enable 

V* 



130 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LVIII. 

him to fulfil more easily the duties of his offices, he 
brought with him his relative John Nanfran, commis- 
sioned to act as lieutenant-governor of New York. 

Measures for the suppression of piracy. — To the dis- 
grace of the English name, many of the privateers au- 
thorized to act against the French, had, of late years, 
become pirates ; infesting the whole American coast, 
and the lower latitudes of the Atlantic ocean. Lord 
Bellamont had special orders to exterminate these free- 
booters, and consulted, for this purpose, Mr. Robert 
Livingston, then prosecuting his claims before the En- 
glish court, and who was known to be well informed on 
all colonial affairs. 

Kid's cruise and its issue. — Kid, afterwards so notori- 
ous as a pirate, was, as yet, known only as a mariner 
eminent for his integrity and courage ; and him Living- 
ston recommended as an individual peculiarly competent 
for the task of extii-pating the piratical cruisers. So 
entirely did Mr, Livingston confide in Kid's character, 
that he advanced a fifth of the cost of an expedition, and 
became security for Kid's faithful discharge of the office 
assigned him. The king himself, and several of the no- 
bility, took shares in the enterprise. 

Kid sailed, on his cruise, in April, 1696. But the 
opportunity which his new station offered, to enable him 
to become possessed of immense wealth, was too strong 
a temptation for his firmness of principle. He became, 
himself, one of the most daring and noted pirates of the 
day, and was, at length, arrested in the town of Boston, 
which he had the audacity to visit, after having burned 
his ship. 

Judging the trial of so conspicuous a villain to belong 
properly to English jurisdiction, lord Bellamont wrote 
to the home government, desiring that Kid might be 
sent for, A national ship was accordingly despatched 
to bring him over; but having been driven back by 
adverse weather, the popular surmise arose that the 
whole affair was a matter of- collusion among all con- 
cerned ; and so strong was this impression, that it was 
even used, though most unjustly, as a theme of party 
invective, in parliament. 



HISTORY.— 1098 131 

Reading Lesson LIX. 

Investigation of the conduct of ex-governor Fletcher. — 
One of the first steps of the new governor, was to submit 
to the council the allegations of the East-India company 
against Fletcher, of his having participated in the pro- 
tection of the pirates. But nothing farther could be 
ascertained, than that one of the council had extended 
protection to recognized privateers, as such. Fletcher's 
position in society, — for he remained in America, as 
governor under the proprietors of Pennsylvania, — ren- 
dered such allegations absurd ; yet the servility of some 
members of the council would have authorized the new 
governor to send him home for trial. The only commu- 
nications with known pirates, were those kept up by some 
of the inhabitants of Long Island, who occasionally sup- 
plied them with provisions, in a clandestine manner. 
Hence, in subsequent yeai's, the infatuated perseverance 
of some of the people of the island, in digging for the 
treasures supposed to have been buried along the shore, 
by piratical cruisers, on their stolen visits to the coast. 

Lord Bcllamont's partialities in his administration. — 
Fletcher had, during his whole term of office, been in- 
fluenced by the enemies of Leisler; and governor Bella- 
mont commenced his career with a similar prejudice 
against his immediate predecessor and his partizans, 
which was a copious source of trouble, in the conduct of 
public affairs, and an injury to the peace and prosperity 
of the colony. 

Difficulties attending the mutual surrender of prisoners^ 
\f.tween the French and the English. — The French gov- 
ernor was notified, in due form and season, of the peace 
of Ryswick : and arrangements were made for the res- 
toration of all captives, on both sides. The count, how- 
ever, being unwilling to recognize the supremacy of the 
English over the Five Nations, insisted on the French 
prisoners among them being brought direct to Montreal. 
But the English governor persisted on their being brought, 
in the first instance, to Albany. The indefatigable old 
count died during this dispute ; and his successor, De 
Calli^res,* conducted the exchange of prisoners without 
reference to the English governor. 
J * Pronounced, Calydre. 



132 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LIX. 

Death of governor Bellamont. — The affairs of the colony 
were but beginning to assume a regulated form under 
lord Bellamont, whose integrity and activity had excited 
great hopes of benefit to the colony, when, in March, 
1701, he was called away, by death, from the discharge of 
earthly duties. 

Liieutcnant- governor 'Navfran. — Unfortunately for the 
peace of the colony, the lieutenant-governor was absent, 
in Barbadoes, at the time of governor Bella mont's de- 
cease ; and a dispute arose among the council, whether 
the government should be administered by a majority of 
that body, or by the president. This question continued 
to agitate the community till Nanfran's return ; and the 
more so, because it was mixed up with the party feelings 
originally excited between the friends and enemies of 
Leisler. To the former, Nanfran showed manifest favor, 
which tended to keep up, for several years, the spirit of 
party animosity in the colony. 

Reversal oj' Leisler^ s attainder of treason. — Jacob Leis- 
ler, prosecuting, with determination, the exculpation of 
his father's memory, succeeded, at length, in obtaining, 
from the English parliament, a reversal of the attainder 
under which the elder Leisler had suffered. He received, 
in addition, an order on the colonial authorities, for pecu- 
niary indemnificaticm of his father's losses, in consequence 
of his disbursements for promoting the revolutionary 
movement in the colony. The majority of the legislature 
being of the Leislerian party, a vote was easily obtained 
for the appropriation of a thousand pounds for this pur- 
pose. 

Colonial party troubles. — Information of the appoint* 
ment of a new governor having now reached New York, 
the anti-Leislerian party, at the instigation of Nicholas 
Bayard, forwai-ded petitions and memorials to the English 
court, and to the expected governor, lord Cornbury, con- 
demning the proceedings of the local government and 
legislature, in terms of great bitterness. 

Nanfran's indignation was excited to the highest pitch, 
by these proceedings; and he imprisoned Bayard, and 
Hutchins, an alderman, at whose house the memorialists 
had assembled. Resolving to anticipate the arrival of 
the new governor, he hurried on the trial of the accused, 
and, aided by the unrighteous decisions of Atvvood, the 



HISTORY.— 1703. 133 

chief-justice, succeeded in having^ Bayard convicted of 
high treason, and condemned to death. A reprieve was, 
with difficulty, obtained, till communication could be had 
with England ; and, in the meantime, lord Cornbury ar- 
rived, empowered and directed to reverse the proceed- 
ings ; the queen having had opportunity to give a personal 
hearing to the parties or their proxies, and to become 
satisfied of the illegality of the whole procedure. 



SEC. v.— ADMINISTRATIONS OF LORD CORNBURY, LORD LOVE- 
LACE, AND LIEUTENANT-GOVERNORS INGOLDSBY AND BEEK- 

M AN.— 1702-1711. 

Reading Lesson LX. 

Lord Cornhury. — The new governor was the son of 
the famous earl of Clarendon, the English historian, and 
a steadfast partizan of the Stuarts, the former occupants 
of the English throne. But the son was one of the first 
to desert that interest, and attach himself to the new sov- 
ereigns. His commission, as governor of New York and 
New Jersey, was the reward of his services. Unfortu- 
nately for the colony, he was needy and avaricious ; and 
his main study was to secure his personal and pecuniary 
interests. He began his administration, on the 3d of May, 
1702 ; and, as he adopted the anti-Leislerian faction, the 
leaders of the opposite party were obliged to succumb, or 
withdraw from the province. 

Ecclesiastical troubles at Jamaica, Long Island. — The 
great mortality of the summer of 1703, in the city of New 
York, having driven away many of the inhabitants, lord 
Cornbury held his residence and court at Jamaica, on 
Long Island. Here, his lordship, whose zeal for episco- 
pacy knew no bounds, had, unfortunately, an early oppor- 
tunity of displaying it, at the expense of his character as 
an upright governor. 

The presbyterian inhabitants of the village, had, at an 
early period, erected a church, and obtained a parsonage 
for their minister. But, towards the close of the preced- 
ing century, several families, of the episcopal commu- 
nion, having established themselves in the place, and, ulti- 
mately, having increased in numbers and influence, be- 
came jealous of the privileges held by their neighbor 
community, and formed the determination to take posses- 



134 NEVV-yORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LX. 

sion of the church; as there was, unfortunately for the 
presbyterians, no clause, in the town vote, appropriating 
the edifice exclusively to their use. The plan was car- 
ried into execution, one Sunday, between forenoon and } 
afternoon service, and an ejectment effectually accom- 
plished. I 

Possession was resumed by the presbyterians, but, ere 
long, forcibly wrested from them by their opponents ; the 
governor abetting the latter in their proceedings, and in- i 
flicting fines and imprisonment on the former. His lord- | 
ship even debased himself so far as to act a conspicuous 1 
part in these iniquitous doings. At the time when he re- 1 
tired from the city, in consequence of the pestilence, the j 
largest and best house in Jamaica was the parsonage, t 
then occupied by the presbyterian minister. His lo7-d- i 
ship condescended to solicit the loan of it ; and the cler- jj 
gyman complied, to his own great inconvenience. The | 
retui-n which the governor made, was, to deliver the par- ^ 
sonage and the glebe to the episcopal party. 

The just indignation expressed at these acts, excited . 
his lordship's anger against the whole presbyterian body ; 
and he proceeded so far as to prohibit their clergy from 
preaching, and their schoolmasters from teaching, without 
his special license. In this proceeding, however, it should 
be borne in mind, that he was formally upheld by the 
letter of the royal instructions to the governors of all the 
English colonies. 

Meeting of the colo?iial legislature, at Jamaica, 1703. — 
Among the subjects to which the governor directed the 
attention of the legislative assembly which met him at 
Jamaica, were the proper fortifying of the port of New 
York and the frontiers of the colony, the erection of pub- 
lic schools, and the due examination of the accounts of 
the province. Of the importance of proper provision for 
the last of these items, no deeper impression could be 
made than by his lordship's own act of deliberately appro- 
priating to his private use the sum voted for erecting a 
fortification at the Narrows. 

Misicnderstanding between the governor and the legisla- 
tive assembly. — The successive assemblies of 1704 and 
3705 seem to have respectfully but firmly protested against 
the governor's unauthorized disposal of the public money. 
But, to all their remonstrances, he returned indignant and 



HISTORY.— 1703. 135 

arrogant answers. Measures, however, seem to have been 
taken, at the English court, to secure, in this respect, the 
rights of the subject. For, when a panic was caused in 
1705, by the appearance of a French privateer in the bay, 
and the assembly voted supplies on the condition of having 
them expended under the eye of a special treasurer, the 
governor, at length, announced that he had her majesty's 
permission to sanction such an arrangement, which, how- 
ever, was not carried into effect, till the following year. 

Persecuting spirit of the governor. — One of the most 
arbitrary and tyrannical acts of Cornbury, was his im- 
prisoning and prosecuting two presbyterian preachers, 
who arrived, about this time, in the colony, and became 
guilty of the heinous offence of preaching without his 
lordship's license. They were arrested at Newtown, 
and publicly led through Jamaica to New York, as crimi- 
nals, and, by a precept to the sheriff there, committed to 
prison, where they were detained upwards of six weeks, 
owing to the absence of the chief-justice, who was then in 
New Jersey. An indictment against one of them was 
found ; and, although, on trial, he was unanimously ac- 
quitted, the court was servile enough to his lordship, the 
governor, to devolve on the innocent man the entire 
costs of the prosecution, amounting to a large sum for the 
times. 

General discontent with governor Cornhury. — The illegal 
and oppressive conduct of the governor, both in New 
York and New Jersey, and his habitual misapplications 
of the public funds, together with his inveterate spirit of 
enmity, on religious grounds, towards the Dutch and 
New-England population, at last reached such a height 
as to attract the royal notice, through a petition presented 
by the legislature of New Jersey ; and he was dismissed 
fi'om office, with expressions of indignation, on the part 
of the queen. When divested of his office, he was thrown 
into prison at New York, by his creditors, and there re- 
mained till his father's death, which put him in possession 
of the earldom of Clarendon, and, with it, the means of 
his release. 

Reading Lesson LXI. 

1 Governor hovelace. — Lord Lovelace, the new governor, 
arrived in December, 1708, and, owing to the character 



1 36 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXI. 

of his predecessor, was gi-atefully -welcomed, in the hope 
of better times for the colony. He did not live, however, 
to fulfil such expectations ; for he died within a year, 
on the 5th of May, in consequence of exposure in crossing 
the ferry, at his arrival. 

Lieutenant-governor Ingoldsby. — This individual who 
had before administered the government, on the death of 
governor Sloughter, was again called to the temporary 
charge of the colony. During this period, however, noth- 
ing of moment occurred, except the memorable failure 
of the projected invasion of Canada. 

Proposed invasion of Canada. — The scheme for this 
measure, was submitted to the colonies by colonel Vetch, 
and readily adopted by them all, especially by New York, 
which even incurred a public debt, to sustain its share in 
the enterprise. The most extensive preparations were 
made, in every form, for this undertaking. A large force 
was raised and despatched to Albany, where forts and 
block-houses were constructed, and provisions forwarded 
and accumulated, with great despatch. But the expected 
fleet from England never made its appearance ; the exi- 
gences of the war in Europe, having suddenly demanded 
all the disposable English force, and diverted that intended 
for America, from its original destination. Loud but un- 
availing complaints and representations were made, in all 
directions, but particularly by New York, which had made 
so large sacrifices in the cause. 

Colonel Schuyler's visit to England. — No one in the 
colony was more deeply disappointed by the failure, in 
this instance, than colonel Schuyler, who labored so inde- 
fatigably for the interests of England, with the native con- 
federates. So deep was his impression of the necessity 
of sti'iking a decisive blow against Canada, the peipetual 
source of so much danger to the colony of New York, 
that he resolved to visit England, and make a personal 
representation on the subject, at court ; and, to secure a 
favorable impression on the minds of the Indian allies, he 
proposed to take with him five of their chiefs, to hold an 
interview with the queen. 

The assembly, hearing of his intentions, gave him a 
warm recommendation to the sovereign. On Schuyler's 
arrival in England, a great sensation was excited by the 
presence of the Indian chiefs, who were not only the pop- 



HisTORY.-nn. ] 37 

ular wonder of the day, but were admitted and welcomed 
in the circles of rank and fashion. They had a formal 
audience of the queen on the 19th of April, 1710, and made 
a brief but highly characteristic speech, on the occasion, 
urging the necessity of decisive measures against the 
French. 

Temporary/ administration ofGerardus Beekman. — Dur- 
ing Schuyler's visit to England, lieutenant-governor In- 
goldsby was superseded by Gerardus Beekman, who 
acted as governor, jtro tern., till the arrival of general 
Hunter, which took place on the 14th of June, 1711, 

SEC. VI.— ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR HUNTER.— 1711-1720. 

previous life of governor Hunter. — The new governor 
aad commenced life as a soldier of fortune, and had risen, 
by virtue of his personal qualities, to rank and station. 
He had been appointed governor of Virginia in 1707, but 
tvas taken by the French, while on his voyage. On his 
eturn to England, he received the appointment of suc- 
cessor to lord Lovelace, both in New York and New 
Jersey, 

German immigrants. — One of the many judicious steps 
vhich governor Hunter took for the improvement of the 
:olony, was his liberal encouragement of immigration. 
He induced several thousand Germans, of the Palatinate, 
vho had taken refuge from persecution in their native 
jountry, by fleeing to England, to emigrate to the colony. 
^ memorial now existing, of a portion of these emigrants, 

the ancient Lutheran church in Frankfort street, in the 
ity of New York. But the larger number settled on a 
ract of Livingston manor. These proved a valuable ac- 
lession to the colony, as regarded its agricultui-al pros- 
>enty, and not less so, in respect of the higher considera- 
non of an inteUigent, peaceable, and moral community, 
)lended with the population of^the province. The lib- 
irality of the English queen towards these immigrants, 
n facilitating their removal and settlement, was well re- 
)aid by the acquisition of a body of loyal and grateful 
ubjects. 

Peaceful policy of governor Hunter. — Another salutary 
neasure of governor Hunter, soon after his accession, was 
lis renewal of the league of friendship with the Indians, 



138 



NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXIL 



without involving them in hostilities with the-Prench. 
They were thus converted into a shield of protection to 
the colony, against the inroads of the latter. 




Frankfort Street Church. 



Reading Lesson LXII. 

Leading men in the assembly. — The improving condi- 
tion of the colony Of New York, was, at this time, in 
nothing more conspicuous than in its increasing number 
of able and active men, competent to see to the right 
management of public affairs. Among these were Mr. 
Nicoll, the speaker, an individual distinguished for firm- 
ness and energy of character, and vigilant discharge of 
official duties ; — Mr. Livingston, distinguished, both at 
home and abroad, for sagacity and comprehensive views, 
not less than for practical ability ; — Mr. Delancey, a 
protestant refugee from Normandy, connected by mar- 
riage with the Courtlandt family, the most opulent of 
the province, — himself an eminent and successful mer- 
chant. 

But the most influential person of that day, was colonel 
Morris. This individual was equally distinguished for 
native force and refined culture of mind ; nor was he less 



HISTORY.-1711. 139 

remarkable for individuality and strength of character. 
An orphan in early life, he fell under the stern rule aa 
well as the patronage of his uncle, an ex-officer of Crom- 
well, who had saved himself, at the restoration, by assum- 
ing the profession of quakerism, and retiring to the beau- 
tiful estate of Morrisania. 

The impassioned temperament of young Morris, brought 
jhim into frequent collisions with his well-meaning but aus- 
tere, and, perhaps, harsh protector. On one such occa- 
sion, he absconded to Virginia, apd thence to Jamaica, in 
the West Indies, where, young as he was, he commenced 
business, as a scrivener. After several years' trial of a 
roving life, he returned to his uncle, who received him 
with pleasure, and established him in life, to the best ad- 
vantage. Previous to governor Hunter's arrival, he had 
been, for years, an active and useful public servant, in the 
colony of New Jersey. He was both the writer and the 
bearer of the complaint against lord Cornbury, and, on 
all occasions, proved his ability and efficiency in political 
business. 

Another unsuccessful attempt to invade Canada. — Colonel 
Nicholson, at the head of an effective English force, vig- 
prously supported by a large body of troops furnished by 
the New-England colonies, succeeded on the 2d October, 

1710, in taking Port Royal, afterwards named Annapolis, 
in honor of the English sovereign. Encouraged by this 
success, Nicholson urged, once more, the project for the 

Bvasion of Canada. Measures were duly concerted to 
:his effect, both in England and the colonies ; and a large 
force, accordingly, arrived at Boston, on the 4th of June, 

1711, under the command of general Hill. 
Unfortunately, the supplies expected to be furnished at 

Boston, were not in readiness ; and the troops had, there- 
Fore, to be landed, for a time. Nicholson, who was to 
ommand the whole land force of the expedition, imme- 
liiately set out for New York, to expedite preparations 
in this quarter. The colonial assembly responded cheer- 
fully and readily to the requisitions made upon them, and 
raised a large supply of men and money. 

Disasters exjjerienccd by the maritime portion of the expe- 
dition. — The fleet, in the meantime, having been furnished 
with supplies, to a certain extent, sailed from Boston, on 
the 30th of July ; and, at its departure, displayed one of 



140 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXIL 

the most magnificent spectacles, of a warlike description, 
ever exhibited in America. The armament consisted of 
twelve ships of war, forty transports, and six store-ships ; 
and the force included a detachment of cavalry and. a 
train of artillery. 

Sir Hoveden Walker, admiral of the fleet, found his 
duties extremely arduous. On arriving at the mouth of 
the St. Lawience, on the 14th of August, he was com- 
pelled to delay till the 20th, in the bay of Gaspe, to avoid 
parting company with the transports. Two days after- 
wards, the fleet was in extreme peril, from a high easterly 
wind and a heavy fog, without the possibility of obtaining 
either observation or soundings. The pilots were at 
fault; and their first notice of their error, was the finding 
themselves drifting among the rocks and islands of the 
north shore. The men of war all escaped ; not, however, 
without much difficulty. But eight of the transports, 
with all on board, perished. The fleet then put into 
Spanish-River bay ; and here it was judged necessary, 
from the limited supply of provisions, to desist from the 
prosecution of the expedition, and to return to England, — 
which was accordingly done. 

Failure of the invasion by land. — Colonel Nicholson 
had, in the meantime, mustered, at Albany, a colonial 
force of four thousand men, drafted from New York, 
New Jersey, and Connecticut, under the command of 
colonels Schuyler, Ingoldsby, and Whiting. 

Governor Vaudreuil,* on his part, used all possible 
despatch, in putting Canada in a state of defence against 
this formidable invasion, and collected a large body of 
friendly Indians, in addition to his regular levies, at Mont- 
real. As soon as he was satisfied of the failure of the 
English maritime expedition, he proceeded to Chambly.t 
and there encamped, with a force of three thousand men, 
to meet the advance of Nicholson. But the latter having 
been apprized of the withdrawal of the fleet, and being 
aware of the difficulty of a campaign at that season of the 
year, had prudently retired ; and thus ended another 
threatened invasion of Canada, with an enormous amount 
of expense and suffering incurred, and nothing accom- 
plished. 

* Pronounced, Vbdrul', — u, sounding as in up, nearly, and I as lU 
in William. t Shamblee. 



HISTORY.— 1713. HI 



Reading Lesson LXIII. 



Disagreements between the house of assembly and the 
cotincil. — It is interesting to trace, at this stage of our 
colonial history, the incipient spirit of steady resistance to 
encroachments on popular rights. The house had had, 
for many years, much reason to complain of the unjust 
modes of disposing of the money which they had, from 
time to time, voted for public uses ; and some of the 
council being, not unfrequently, inclined to support or 
connive at the doings of the governor, the house firmly 
opposed all attempts of the council to amend or modify 
the votes of supply. 

A disagreement had arisen between the two branches 
of the legislature, on the occasion of attempting to devise 
ways and means for retrieving the condition of the treas- 
ury, now exhausted by the expenditures attending the 
unfortunate expedition to Canada. On this occasion, the 
house used the following characteristic language, in reply 
to the council. 

" The inherent right the assembly have to dispose of 
;he money of the freemen of this colony, does not proceed 
from any commission, letters patent, or other grant from 
the crown ; but from the free choice and election of the 
people, who ought not to be divested of their property, 
(nor justly can,) without their consent." 

The spirit of this response was manifested in all the 
lotion of the house, for successive years. Governor Hun- 
:er in vain endeavored to secure a revenue which might 
3e wasted at his option ; and so firmly did the assembly 
idhere to their determination, as even to avoid acting on 
;he requisitions made from the English government. 

Effects of the peace of Utrecht. — On the 31st of March, 
L713, peace was concluded at Utrecht, between England 
ind France. Among other topics in dispute which were 
K)\v adjusted between the belligerents, was that of the 
lupremacy over the Indian confederates of the Five Na- 
ions. This point was decided in favor of England, — a 
■ircumstance justly deemed auspicious to the peace and 
velfare of the colony of New York. 

A treasurer for the province created. — The assembly, by 
heir firm adherence to their determination of not leaving 
he supplies voted by them to be directed to private pur- 



142 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXIII. 

poses, succeeded, in wringing from the governor his con- 
sent to the appointment of a colonial treasurer, account- 
able to the assembly. 

Governor Hunter's successful endeavors to bend the 
assemhhj to his will. — Governor Hunter, finding his meas- 
ures often thwarted by the vigilance and steadiness of the 
assembly, dissolved that body, a second time, within the 
year 1715, and, in the following year, succeeded, to a cer- 
tain extent, in accomplishing his purpose, as we perceive 
by the apparent acquiescence of the house, in the wishes 
of the council, in 1716 and 1717; and by the resignation 
of Mr. Speaker Nicoll, in May 1718, who seems to have 
retired in disgust at the prevailing subserviency to the 
governor. 

Governor Hunter's return to England. — On the 24th of 
June, 1719, governor Hunter announced to the assembly 
his intention of visiting England, and, on the occasion 
received, from that body, a highly flattering address; of the; 
perfect unanimity and sincerity of which it is rather difficult: 
to be convinced. Policy, however, may have dictated its 
terms; as the governor left a partial expectation of his re- 
turn, 

SEC. VII.— ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR BURNET.— 1720-1 T28. 

Accession of governor Burnet. — On the withdrawal of 
governor Hunter, the temporary discharge of his duties 
devolved on colonel Schuyler, the senior member of the 
council, who continued in office till the arrival of governor 
Burnet, in September, 1720. This individual was the son 
of the celebrated bishop Burnet, so distinguished for the 
excellence of his official and private character, for his ex- 
tensive erudition, his valuable contribution to the history 
of his times, and his zealous activity for the revolution 
which secured the protestant succession, on the throne of 
England. 

Mr. Burnet was, in all respects, a worthy son of so 
eminent a man. Though devoted, by habit, to science 
and letters, he was by no means a recluse, but mingled 
freely and affiibly in society. He possessed, also, the 
happy talent of ingratiating himself with the people, and 
of dispensing, on proper occasions, with the formal dignity 
of official station. Previous to leavinsf Enjrland, he was 
on terms of intimacy with the former governor. Hunter, 



inSTORY.— 1720. 143 

to whom he relinquished the office of controller of the 
customs, and through whose mediation he obtained his own 
appointment, as governor of the colonies of New York and 
New Jersey. 

Reading Lesson LXIV. 

Leading men in the council of governor Burnet. — Actu- 
ated by the suggestions of ex-governor Hunter, Mr. Burnet 
addicted himself to the councils and support of the tried 
friends of the former administration. Mr. Morris, the chief- 
justice, was his principal adviser, and, next to these. Dr. 
Golden and Mr. Alexander, — men eminent for learning 
and ability, as well as personal worth. Dr. Colden's knowl- 
edge of the actual state of Indian affairs, was exact and ex- 
tensive ; although his interesting work on the history of the 
Five Nations, is, as formerly mentioned, chargeable with 
some inaccuracies, inseparable from all attempts to com- 
pile history, derived, in part, from oral tradition. This dis- 
advantage must ever attend whatever regards the early 
accounts of the Indian tribes. Mr. Livingston was the 
principal adviser of the new governor, in relation to 
matters connected with the influence of the French upon 
the Indians of the colonial borders; and the vigilance of 
governor Burnet, on this vital point, was eaily and uni- 
formly manifested. 
I Resentment of certain merchants excited against governor 
Burnet. — The new governor being anxiously desirous to 
cut off, as far as practicable, the habit of communicatioti 
between the Indians and the French as unfavorable to 
British interests and the safety of the colony, secured the 
passage of a law forbidding the sale of goods designed for 
the Indian trade, to French dealers. 

The importers who, in the first instance, suffered by 
this regulation, expressed the greatest dissatisfaction with 
it, and carried their resentment so far as to transmit to 
EnMand the most disparaging representations touching 
the governor, besides endeavoring to excite popular odium 
against him at home. The exporting merchants of Lon- 
don were also incited to petition for the interference of 
royal authority, to annul the governor's restriction of 
trude. 

To this petition Dr. Golden and Mr. Alexander fur- 
nished an elaborate and able reply, showing that the new 



144 NEW YORK CLASS-BOOK— LESSON LXIV. 

regulation would tend to keep the trade in the hands of 
the colonists, and to j^reserve the fidelity of the Indians. 

Governor Burncfs measures to secure the friendly dis- 
position of the confederates. — To thwart the intentions of 
the French, who were desirous of enclosing the English 
settlements within a chain of forts, extending from Cana- 
da to Louisiana, and to facilitate the communications 
with the Indian allies of the colony, governor Burnet, in ^ 
Y122, commenced the erection of a fortified trading-house 
at Oswego, in the Seneca country, and urged on the as- 
sembly the appointment of a resident agent among the 
Onondagas. He renewed, also, at Albany, the league 
with the confederate chiefs, now become additionally 
powerful, by the accession of a portion of the Nicariagas, ■ 
in addition to the Tuscaroras, who, being driven from 
their original homes by the advancement of the white 
settlements in Virginia, had removed and settled near lake 
Oneida. The governor, on this visit, rendered a valuable 
service to the New-England colonies, by inducing the 
confederates to send a message to the Indians on the east, 
threatening them with war, in case they invaded the white 
settlements. 

Dissensions in the French protestant church in New 
York. — The persecution of the protestants in France, 
under Louis XIV, had driven many of them to America. 
Those who settled in New York were, in general, per- 
sons estimable for their character and cultivation, and 
highly respectable in condition. According to the cus- 
tom of the times, the French protestant church in New 
York, — which was somewhat numerous, — had two pas- 
tors. Of these M. Rou, a man of excellent abilities but 
arrogant disposition, was inclined to treat with disrespect 
his humbler colleague M. Moulinaars. The latter, at 
length, succeeded in exciting a reaction in his favor, 
and, ultimately, in procuring the dismissal of the former. 
Ron's learning and ability had made him a favoi-ite with 
governor Burnet ; and his party found it easy to secure 
a reversal of the proceedings, on which occasion the 
party of M. Moulinaars withdrew from the church. 
Among the latter was Mr. Delancey, one of the most 
eminent men of the colony, and unfortunately for the '.'"f 
governor, one of tho most decided enemies of the re- !''« 
etrictions laid on the commerce with the Canadians. H 



IIICTORY.— 1726. 



145 



The governor'' s treatment nf Mr. Delancey. — The subse- 
quent conduct of the governor towards Mr. Delancey, 
seems to have been a departure from Mr. Burnet's usual 
courtesy and strict regard to justice, and savors more of 
arbitrary and oppressive rule, than of respect for equity 
and the rights of the subject. Nor was his harshness, in 
this instance, without its reactive effect on popular feel- 
I ing, and on his own continuance in office. 




Original Frekch Protestant Church, 
Erected in 1704, on Pine Street, near Nassau. 



Reading Lesson LXV. 

Ii Fart Niagara rehuilt hy the French. — The French, 
'earing that the new trading-house, built by governor 



Burnet on the Onondaga river, would cause them the 
OSS of their Indian trade at the west, launched two 
essels on lake Ontario, in 1726, and proceeded to re- 
)uild the fort formerly erected by them at Niagara. 
Baron De Longueuil, then governor of Canada, was so 
ealous in this business, that he went, in person, to 
blicit permission of the Onondagas, for the purpose, and 
ucceeded in obtaining it. The other confederates, how- 
iver, protested against the grant as null, — the work lying 
pithin the limits of the Senecas, — and commanded the 
G 



. 



146 NEW-yORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON LXV. 

French to desist. The latter, however, persevered, and, 
in spite of all the opposition and protests of governor 
Burnet, both at home and abroad, pursued their design 
to its completion. All that the English governor could 
now do, was, in the following year, to erect a fort for the 
protection of the trading-post at Oswego. 

Cession of the territory of the covfederates. — The viru- 
lent opposition to governor Burnet, now fermenting in 
the colony, weakened his power so effectually that he 
was unable to counteract the proceedings of the French. 
But he succeeded, by an eloquent address to the chiefs 
of the Six Nations, (now so called in consequence of the 
accession of the Tuscaroras,) in obtaining from them a 
deed, surrendering their whole territory to the king of 
England. 

The humane and philanthropic character of Burnet, 
would make this transaction appear wholly unaccount- 
able ; were it not for the fact that the confederates had 
already acknowledged the supremacy of the English 
sovereign, and that the defence of the colony of New 
York, against the encroachments of the French, seemed 
to require such a measure as one of self preservation. 
For governor De Callieres had, long before, spoken of 
the conquest of New York as " a thing rendered lawful 
by necessity." 

Increasing discontents with the admimstration of gover- 
nor Burnet. — One of the odious measures adopted by 
Burnet's predecessor, and continued by himself, was the 
establishment of a court of chancery, in which the gover- 
nor presided. This court was necessarily more exposed to 
the influence of personal authority and arbitrary decision, 
than any other. Its fees, in all cases, were exorbitant, 
and its decisions often ruinous to the parties concerned. 
It had therefore been, all along, a source of universal 
dissatisfaction and bitter complaint. Nor can we wonder 
that it should have been so, when we remember that 
neither Hunter nor Burnet had any special degree of 
legal knowledge ; that the former had more the peremp-' 
tory spirit of a soldier, than the dispassionate calmness 
of a judge, and that the latter freely expressed his in- 
competency for such an ofiice, in the remark which he 
sometimes was frank enough to make, — that he occa- 
sionally " decided first and judged afterwards." So in- 



HISTORY.— 1729. 147 

•tolerably oppressive, in fact, had this court become, that 
the legislative assembly of 1727, passed several stern 
resolutions, condemning it as illegal. This protest, at 
the time, only drew down on the assembly the penalty 
of dissolution ; but it had the effect of procuring measures 
for a partial reformation of abuses, in the following 
spring. — In this, and many similar instances, we see the 
evils inseparable from a colonial condition, which ex- 
poses the people to all the contingencies of caprice and 
tyranny, on the part of a governor ; and we can easily 
understand from what a train of evils the country was 
delivered, when it attained a state of independence. 

SEC. Vin.— ADMINISTRATIONS OP GOVERNORS MONTGOMERIE AND 
COSBY.— 1728-1736. 

Reading Lksson LXVI. 

Governor Montgomerie. — The dissatisfaction with gov- 
ernor Burnet's administration, had now become so gen- 

I eral that it was deemed best, at home, that he should re- 
linquish his station, and be transferred to the government 
of the colony of Massachusetts. The new governor, 

• colonel John Montgomerie, succeeded to office, on the 
15th of April, 172S, and soon proved himself a very differ- 
ent person from his predecessor. His early years he 
had spent in the army ; but the greater part of his life had 
been occupied in a station within the precincts of the 
court, and in attendance on his duties as a member of 
parliament. He was a quiet, modest, easy man, who as- 
sumed little authority, and gave very little trouble. Fully 
conscious of his inability to preside in a court of chancery, 
he had as little to do with its affairs as possible, and thus 
exempted himself from the popular odium which attached 
itself to his predecessor in office. 

Measures of security against the French. — One of the 

I first public acts of governor Montgomerie, was to renew, 
at Albany, the league with the Six Nations, and to strength- 
en, by an additional force, the trading establishment and 
'fort at Oswego, against which the French were medita- 
ting an attack. 

Reopening of the trade with Canada. — About the close 
of the year 1729, the royal mandate arrived, annulling all 
governor Burnet's restrictions on the trade with Canada- 



148 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.-LESSON LXVI. 

The English ascendency over the Indians was thus great- 
ly impaired ; as the Canadian traders were always patri- 
otic enough in their feelings, to desire the advantage of 
their own countrymen, and to do all in their power, to 
prejudice the minds of the natives against the English. 

Settlement of the question of the boundary line between 
New York and Connecticut. — The imperfect knowledge 
of Nicolls and the other commissioners who attempted to 
decide this matter, in the year 1664, laid them open to a 
serious error. They were, in fact, outwitted by the more 
knowing commissioners of Connecticut, at whose sugges- 
tion the line was so drawn as actually to strike the Hud- 
son river, instead of keeping at the stipulated distance of 
twenty miles fi-om it. In the years 1683 and 1684, suc- 
cessive attempts were made, and with apparent satisfac- 
tion on both sides, to adjust this affair. But a dispute 
having arisen, regarding the jurisdiction over the towns 
of Rye and Bedford, an appeal was made to king Will- 
iam, who, in the year 1700, confirmed the decision of 
1683. 

In 1702, the governor was empowered to resurvey the 
line ; and, notwithstanding the opposition of the Con- 
necticut agent, the authority was confirmed in 1723. 
The commissioners of both colonies, at length, com- 
menced the work of resurveying, in 1725 ; but the set- 
tlement was not completed till 1731. 

By this arrangement a tract of land, called the Oblong, 
on the Connecticut side, was ceded to New York, as an 
equivalent for lands on the Sound, ceded to Connecticut. 
The conflicting claims of the English and American pat- 
entees of the Oblong, neither of whom were at first aware 
of the rights of the other, were afterwards a fruitful source 
of trouble to the colony of New York. 

Temporary administration of Riji Van Dam. — Gov- 
ernor Montgomerie died on the 1st of July, 1731 ; and the 
administration devolved, pro tem., on Mr. Rip Van Dam, 
senior counsellor, — an upright and honorable man, but 
not well qualified for the discharge of duties so onei'ous 
as those which it now fell to him to perform. The French, 
taking advantage of his quiescent disposition and the in- 
activity of the colony, secured themselves in possession 
of the formidable position of Crown Point, which was, in 
3. manner, the key to the whole frontier region of the 



IIISTORY.-1734. 149 

English colonies of New York, Massachusetts, and New 
Hampshire. Governor Belcher of Massachusetts apprized 
Mr. Van Dam of the peril incurred by this movement of 
the French, and urged the importance of a speedy check 
to their farther proceedings. But the dilatory and inde- 
cisive measures of Van Dam and the council, allowed the 
opportunity to slip, till interference was too late. 

Governor Cosby. — On the 1st of August, 1732, Mr. 
Van Dam was relieved of his responsibility, by the arrival 
of colonel Cosby, commissioned as governor of New York 
and New Jersey. He brought with him, from Minorca, 
of which he had been governor, no very advantageous 
repute for courtesy or even integrity ; and his petulant 
expressions on hearing what he deemed the inadequate 
amount of the first appropriation for himself, seemed to 
give note of warning as to what might be expected of his 
subsequent official career. 

Establishment of a free grammar-scliool. — The year 
1732 stands distinguished, in our colonial annals, as that 
in which a generous public provision was first made for 
classical education. This measure was found indispensa- 
ble ; as all attempts to support private seminaries for lib- 
eral education, had wholly failed. 

Governor Cosbifs injustice to Mr. Van Dam. — The 
English government had made the equitable arrangement 
that the new governor should share with Mr. Van Dam 
the emoluments of office, during the former's detention 
in England. The mean, avaricious, and oppressive con- 
duct of Cosby, in this affiiir, excited general indignation. 
This feeling was still farther increased by his arbitrary 
act in appointing Mr. Delancey, junior, to supersede 
chief-justice Morris, who had had the independence to 
pronounce an unfavorable judgment on his case, in the 
prosecution of Mr. Van Dam. 

Reading Lesson LXVII. 

Popular excitement against the courts of law. — The 
(abuses and extQrtions connected with law proceedings, 
'had long been a subject of complaint in the colony ; and 
the odium connected with the proceedings against Mr. 
Van Dam, had taken the direction of a strong hostility 
to the court of exchequer. Even the legislative assembly 



150 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXVIL 

carried matters so far as to listen to a long and elaborate 
argument on its legality and constitutional authority. 

Newspaper xoarfarc between the governor''s party and 
that of the people. — In the angry discussions which arose 
from the feelings of the day, the two prominent newspa- 
pers of the colony, were, naturally enough, enlisted. 
Zenger's Weekly Journal was the organ of the popular 
party, and Bradford's Gazette, that of the government. 
The former had admitted several scurrilous articles, 
which the council had indignantly ordered to be publicly 
buined by the hands of " the common whipper." The 
city authorities, however, being of the opposite faction, 
protested against the injunction, as illegal; and the order 
had, at length, to be carried into execution, by the hands 
of a negro slave of the sheriff'. 

Trial of Zenger. — Zenger, not long after, was seized 
and imprisoned, and even denied pen, ink, and paper ; 
but his friends procured his liberation ; and he resumed 
his editorial labors, till the spring term of court, in the 
following year. On the occasion of his trial, chief-justice 
Delancey, irritated by the objections to his jurisdiction, 
offered by the lawyei's, Messrs. Smith and Alexander, 
whom Zenger had employed, arbitraiily refused to hear 
them, and struck their names from the roll of attorneys 
of the court. 

Measures such as this, inflamed, to the highest pitch, 
the general feeling of resentment against injustice so 
flagrant ; and the delight of the people knew no bounds, 
when Mr. Hamilton of the Philadelphia bar, who had 
been engaged on Zenger's behalf, succeeded, by an irre- 
sistible strain of eloquence, wit, argument, and humor, 
in obtaining the acquittal of his client. Shouts of applause 
at the result, were repeated within the court-house ; and 
no threats could suppress them. Mr. Hamilton was es- 
corted to a public entertainment by the people, and after- 
wards presented with the freedom of the city, and saluted, 
at his departure, by the firing of cannon. 

Governor Cosby'' s partiality to the English patentees of 
the " Oblong." — A patent for the tract called the Oblong, 
had been secured by a company in New York. But one 
Harison, whose dishonorable conduct ultimately caused 
him to flee the country, had, in the meantime, from resent- 
ment against certain members of the colonial company, 



HISTORY.— 1736. 151. 

excited persons in England to apply for and obtain a 
patent, — unknown to tlie authorities of the colony. A 
long and exciting litigation ensued between the pajties; 
and governor Cosby, adopting the interests of the English 
patentees, used every means to defeat the success of the 
colonial proprietors, and, as chancellor, gave judgment ac- 
cordingly. The counsel of the American patentees protest- 
ed against the governor's procedure, as illegal ; and the 
assembly passed a formal vote, condemning the constitu- 
tion of the court under the presidency of a governor, as 
not only illegal, but subversive of the rights of the people. 

Other causes of hostility to governor Cosby, were his 
unrighteous destruction of certain deeds originally granted 
to the city of Albany, and his avowed intention of resur- 
veying some of the ancient patents of Long Island. In 
the latter project, he was arrested by the hand of death, 
on the 10th of March, 1736. 

Disjjuted succession to the administration. — The death of 
governor Cosby was heard, with undisguised joy, on the 
part of the people ; and high expectations were formed 
of the benefit to the colony from the temporary reinstate- 
ment of Mr. Van Dam, who ought to have succeeded to 
office. Mr. Clarke, however, was installed. The strug- 
gles of these leaders for the possession of power, and the 
hostilities of their partizans, occupied several months, 
and were about to come to an open rupture, when de- 
spatches arrived from England, addressed to Mr. Clarke, 
as acting governor. 

SEC. IX.— ADMINISTKATION OF LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR CLARKE.— 
173G -1743. 

Reading Lesson LXVIII. 

Policy of lieutenant-governor Clarke. — This individual 
who had, from his early years, filled the post of secretary, 
was a native of England, — a man of limited education, 
but of practical talent and business habits. He had the 
art and tact of a consummate politician, and contrived, for 
successive years, to avoid collision either with the popular 
or the aristocratic faction, and, at the same time, to keep 
on a good footing with the authorities in England. 

Eloquence of Mr. Smith. — The comparative quiet of 
the colony, at this period, leaves us at leisure to dwell. 



152 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSOX LXVIIT. 

once more, on the eminent men of the time. A disputed 
election for a member of assembly, in the year 1738 
called forth the eloquence of Mr. Smith, in a style memo- 
rable, m the annals of our colonial history, and clearly 
indicative, also, of the extent and force of popular preiu- 
dice, at that day. 

_ Mr. Smith, in his zeal for the cause of his client, called 
in question, when pleading before the assembly, the legal- 
ity of certain votes, given by individuals of the Jewish 
community, in favor of his client's opponent. In support 
of his position, he declaimed against the admission of such 
votes, as derogatory to the christian re;igion, and subver- 
sive of the constitution of the state ; he enlarged on the 
degradation of the Jewish race, as a judicial punishment 
Irora heaven, in answer to their imprecation of the guilt 
of the Saviour's blood upon their heads, and dwelt on the 
scene of the crucifixion, in terms so impassioned and 
pathetic, as to call forth tears and exclamations from his 
hearers. The interference of persons of influence with 
the populace, was even necessary to restrain them from 
violence on the unoffending Hebrews, and to prevent the 
streets of New York from becoming a scene of ruthless 
and lawless violence, such as used to disgrace the cities 
of Europe, in former times. The result of the pleadin^r 
was the rejection of the Jewish votes. Judge S^mith in 
his history, gives the following impressive sketch of this 
powerful speaker. The passage is no ordinary specimen 
of manly eloquence, in a son delineating the mental por- 
tiait of a noble father. ^ 

"Mr. Smith. Was a native of England, and was now at 
he age of forty He left London, with his father's famt 
ly. and arrived at New York, in 1715. He had the 
natural advantages of figure, voice, vivacity, memorV 
imagination promptness, strong passions, volubility in^ 
yention, and a taste for ornamenl. These talents we.^ 
mproved by the assiduous industry of a robust constilu! 
ton, with uninterrupted health and temperance,-in he 

Fn th"! 1.1??" ^vI'T'^^ ""^ ^^^^"^^' -d' particularly! 
in he law and in theology. His progress in the latter 
was the more extensive, from an early turn to a life of 
piety and devotion. He studied the Scriptures in their 
ongma s, when young; and, in advanced life, they were 
so famihar to him. that he often read them t^ his family 



HISTORY.— 1738. 153 

in English, from the Hebrew or Greek, without the least 
hesitation. He was bred a dissenter, in Buckinghamshire, 
and attached to tlie doctrines of Calvin ; and a great part 
of his time was spent in perusing the works, French, 
English, and Latin, of the most celebrated divines of that 
stamp. He was, for some time, in suspense about enter- 
ing into the service of the church. He prepared no notes 
for his memorable speech : it was delivei'ed within a few 
hours after the thought of an implicative exception in the 
election act was first conceived ; and the astonishment of 
the audience rose the higher, by the rare instance of so 
much pulpit eloquence from a law character at the bar of 
the house." 

Mr. Smith, and his colleague, Mr. Alexander, — the law- 
yers who had been employed by Zenger, when prosecuted 
for libel, and who had been silenced by chief-justice Delan- 
cey, — were, at the term following the memorable speech 
referred to, restored to their places at the bar ; as it was 
judged inexpedient to continue the effect of a sentence 
.so unpopular. 

I Reading Lesson LXTX. 

I "Political craft of lieutenant-governor Clarice . — Governor 
Clarke had contrived, thus far, to keep on tolerable terms 
with the party attached to ex-governor Cosby; but being 
now desirous of acting without the restraint which their 
influence imposed on him, he artfully induced them to 
accept his offers of advantageous offices ; having first, 
however, taken pains to secure the veto of his council to 
the consummation of the arrangement. The policy of 
governor Clarke, in this proceeding, resembles more the 
intrigues of European cabinets, in the middle ages, than 
appropriate measures for the political management of a 
young American colony. The stratagem, however, fully 
succeeded ; and the party who thus committed them- 
selves, were completely undermined, and found them- 
selves odious in the eyes of the people. The governor 
failed not to take all possible advantage of the false 
position of the only party whose influence he dreaded, 
and used little reserve in urging on the legislature the 
measures he deemed most important for the support of 
his government. 

Firmness of the Legislature of 1738. — The body, how- 

G* 



154 NEW-yORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXIX. 

ever, to whom these demands were addressed, manifested 
the characteristic firmness of their Dutch and English 
ancestry, and refused to grant a revenue. but on such 
conditions as seemed, to them, just to their constituents. 
The governor, irritated at their opposition to his views 
and purposes, exercised his right of proroguing the as- 
sembly, at short intervals ; thinking, by this means, to 
harass them into compliance. But the legislature re- 
mained firm ; and the governor, at last, resorted to his 
higher prerogative of dissolving that body, and issued 
writs for a new election. 

Sessions of 1739. — The new legislature met in July, 
1739, at a time when the small-pox was raging in the 
city ; and, from the earnest desire of the country mem- 
bers to return to their homes, a temporary supply was 
voted. On reassembling in August, the same spirit of 
opposition, as before, was manifested, in regard to the 
wishes of the governor for a permanent revenue. The 
governor resorted, once more, to a prorogation, which, 
however, took no great effect ; as but few of his sugges- 
tions were attended to, and a revenue for one year only, 
was all that he obtained. 

Sessions of 1740 (md 1741. — The same reluctance to 
grant a long revenue, and to entrust the public funds to 
the control of the governor, continued to actuate the legis- 
lature ; although they granted supplies for occasional pur- 
poses. Governor Clarke exerted himself, in vain, tO; 
induce that body to concede his favorite objects. His: 
eloquence and his threats were alike unavailing ; although,^ 
when, in one of his speeches, he charged them with giv- 
ing countenance, by their action, to the rumor that the 
colonies were conspiring for independence, the charge 
was indignantly repelled. Here, we trace the first dim 
intimation of the existence of that idea which was fully 
developed in all minds, within the space of thirty years,; 
and consummated in the American revolution ; but which 
was now disavowed, as treasonous and absurd. The spirit 
of loyalty to Great Britain was still predominant in the 
colonies, and continued so till the odious and oppressive 
measures of parliament drove America to resistance. 

The '' hard winter" of niO-il.— The following pas- 
sage gives a vivid picture of the condition of New YorkJ 
at this period. 



HISTORY.-mi. 155 

" The winter," says judge Smith, " which ushered in 
this year, (ever since called the hard winter,) was distin- 
guished by the sharpest frost, and the greatest quantity of 
snow, within the memory of the oldest inhabitant. The 
weather was intensely severe, from the middle of No- 
vember to the latter end of March. The snow, by re- 
peated falls, was at length six feet above the surface of 
the earth ; and the Hudson river passable upon the ice, 
as low as the capital, within thirty miles from the open 
sea; cattle of all sorts perished from the want of fodder; 
and the deer of the forests were either starved or taken, 
being unable to browse or escape, through the depth of 
the snow. The poor, both in town and country, were 
distressed for food and fuel ; and, by the scarcity of these 
articles, the price of almost everything else was raised, 
and though since reduced, yet never so low as in the pre- 
ceding year. 

"When the frost relaxed, there was a continuation of 
the flight of wild pigeons from the southward, in greater 
flocks than were ever before known ; and, what was still 
more singular, in the month of March, five or six weeks 
earlier than in more temperate seasons. These birds 
nest in the northerly woods of the continent, and retire, 
towards autumn, to the southerly provinces. Their flesh 
is admired here, and, being taken in nets, in such plenty, 
greatly contributes fo the relief of the poor. While nest- 
ino- the males and females resort alternately to the salt 
meadows for food, and, by turns, brood over the eggs. 
The t'vo sexes, at this season, are never taken together; 
thou""!! the flocks are innumerable, and sometimes miles 
in length. It is often asserted, and generally believed, 
that undigested rice has been found in their crops; and, 
because the pigeon is a bird of very swift wing, it is con- 
jectured that they bring this food from the Carolinas; 
and yet there certainly, in the spring, is no standing ripe 
rice in the fields." 

Reading Lesson LXX. 

The " Negro plot" o/'1741.— On the 18th of March, 1741, 
occurred the conflagration of the chapel and the buildings 
within the fort. The fire was unquestionably, in this in- 
stance, the result of inadvertency on the part of a work- 



156 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXX. 

man employed on the roof of the governor's house. But 
successive fires, in various parts of the city, having broken 
out within a few days, a report was circulated, by some 
timid and injudicious individuals, that a plot had been laid 
to fire the city, and massacre the inhabitants. 

The panic spread, and threw the whole city into com- 
motion. In the course of the legal investigations which 
were held, with a view to quiet the people, or ascertain 
the danger, the servant girl of a tavern-keeper, of the 
lowest class, testified that a plot had been laid, at her 
master's house, by some slaves who made their resort 
there, to set fire to the city. In subsequent examinations, 
she varied her testimony, so as to involve a large number 
of citizens, and nearly two hundred slaves. 

The whole summer was consumed in the prosecution 
of alleged criminals. Circumstances were magnified, 
statements exaggerated, and the excitement of the^people 
daily increased ; till the contradictions and falsehoods of 
the informer Vcame so glaring as to be altogether incred- 
ible and ridiculous. But we read, with horror, that the 
popular mama was not allayed till after thirteen Africans 
had been burned at the stake, eighteen hanged, and seventy . 
transported The tavern-keeper and his family were ex- ' 
ecuted, and, with them, one Uvy, a catholic priest, who ^ 
seems to have been most unngV.reously condemned. 

A calmer state of public feeling, at last, made it appa- 
rent, that, at the worst, the plot which hcul so terrified the 
community, was but an undigested attempt to set fire to 
some dwellings, with a view to take advantcx^re of the 
confiisioii, for the purpose of committing tlieft, with 
greater security. 

Legislative sessions o/"1742 and 1743.— The same strug- 
gle, as before, between the governor and the legislature 
continued to keep the colony in the excited mood of oppo- 
silion to arbitrary authority, and was silently layincr [he 
foundations of that alienation of feeling, which vvas at a 
later day, manifested in the spirit of the Revolution. 
1 hi3 state of things continued till the arrival of the new 
governor. 

Retirement of lieutenant-governor Clarke.— HVx^ politic 
and successful individual, having made good use of his 
peculiar ppportunities of amassing wealth, during his ad- 
ministration of the affairs of the colony, retired ?o enjoy 



HJSTORY.-1743. 157 

fjis acquisitions in England, His life and character fur- 
bish a striking instance of the general spirit of colonial 
Dfficers at that period. The main object in view, with 
iiost officials of the day, seems to have been personal 
emolument ; a second, — as necessary to the first, — was 
;he maintaining of a good understanding with the govern- 
nent at home ; a third was a due care to maintain the 
iignity and authority of the crown; a fourth, to preserve 
he honor of the British name and nation ; a fifth, to pro- 
ess a great regard for the rights and liberties of the sub- 
ject ; and, the last, and least, to promote the welfare of 
he colony. Had the last link in this descending chain 
jf objects, been always, as it ought to have been, regarded 
jy our colonial governors, as the true means of securing 
ill the rest, our fathers might have been disposed to per- 
I petuate the condition of colonial dependence, and might 
lave left to another generation the task of achieving 
American freedom. 

SEC. X.— ADMINISTRATIONS OF GOVERNORS CLINTON AND SIR 
DANVERS OSBORN.— 1743-1753. 

Accession of governor Clinton. — In September, 1743, 
jhe new governor, Mr. Clinton, son of the earl of Lincoln, 
,nd a naval officer in early life, — arrived, to assume the 
barge of the colonial administration. Governor Clinton 
vas a man of rather indolent disposition, — prone to in- 
lulge in the pleasures of a sailor's easy life on shore, and 
o enjoy the comforts which his station offered him. 

Action of the legislature, in 1743. — The governor was 
net by the legislature, in the spirit of generous courtesy ; 
md his easy disposition took no offence at the limitation 
)f his revenue to a single year; nor did he object to the 
sill for septennial assemblies, or to such a modification of 
egal proceedings as extended the jurisdiction of the 
;ommon-law courts, and limited the business of chancery, 
— a favorite wish of the people. 

Reading Lesson LXXI. 

Preparations for Iwstilities with France. — The aid ren- 
iered by the French government to the Stuart family, in 
;heir attempt to re-cover possession of the British crown, 
ivas regarded as the signal for warlike preparation in the 



1 58 NEW-YOEK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXXL 

colonies. New York had ever been zealous for the 
protestant ascendency, and had taken a decided step in 
recognizing the movements which terminated in the Brit- 
ish revolution of 1688. Large supplies were now eagerly 
voted, and readily accepted and applied, on the receipt 
of news of the declaration of war. The governor recom- 
mended various measures for strengthening the colony, 
and protecting it against invasion, and, among others, the 
building of a fort at Crown Point, and one, also, at 
Irondequot. 

Proceedings in 1745. — The New-England colonies hav- 
ing formed the daring plan of attacking Louisburg, gov- 
ernor Clinton despatched aid in arms and ammunition, 
and ui'ged on the legislature various measures, in addition 
to those adopted in the preceding year. The formation 
of a general union of the colonies, was one of the subjects 
then suggested ; and the long-deferred appointment of a 
colonial agent, was another. The last of these topics was 
one on which the assembly felt sore, as conscious that 
the neglect of it had caused the proposal of a bill in par- 
liament to prevent colonial paper money being accepted, 
as a legal tender. The legislature, accordingly, took 
oifence at the governor's urgency in this case, and mani- 
fested their displeasure by voting very meagre supplies 
for public objects. The governor, in return, expressed 
the greatest displeasure at what he deemed personal in- 
civilities, and, convening both houses, at once dissolved 
the assembly. 

Indian hostilities, — The new legislature, although con- 
sisting of nearly the same members as before, evinced a 
disposition to comply with several of the governor's re- 
quirements, and voted an immediate supply to enable him 
to secure the good will of the Indian confederates, at his 
interview with them in autumn. 

The French Indians, in the month of November, com- 
menced the invasion of the New-England settlements, 
and ere the whites or the confederates could prevent, ac- 
complished the destruction of Saratoga. The attack was 
made on the night of the 16th. The fort and other build- 
ings were burned, some of the inhabitants killed, and 
others carried into captivity. The frontier inhabitants 
fell back on Albany ; and a general alarm was spread 
throughout the adjoining region. 



HISTORY.-1746. 159 

The governor took occasion to rebuke the legislature 
for non-compliance with his repeated suggestions regard- 
ing the better fortification of the frontier ; and the as- 
sembly bestirred themselves in earnest, about supplies. 
Among the revolting features of the times, we recognize, 
with horror, the practice of offering rewards for Indian 
scalps, and, (with grief and shame must it be acknowl- 
edged,) for the scalps o{ females. 

The atrocities practised by the Indians, seem to have 
seared the feelings of our ancestors to every prompting 
of humanity, on their behalf. 

Measures for defence. — Colonel Philip Schuyler of Al- 
bany, whose brother was slain at Saratoga, importuned 
the governor for a body of troops, and for the rebuilding 
uf the fort ; and the people of Massachusetts renewed 
heir solicitations for the formation of a general league of 
he colonies, for their common defence against their sav- 
age enemy. These, and other subjects connected with 
them, the governor urged on the attention of the assem- 
bly. But, impatient of so frequent meetings, that body 
requested an adjournment till the month of January fol- 
lowing. In the meantime, however, a sum was voted to 
cover the expense of repairing the fort at Oswego. 

On the reassembling of the legislature, several impor- 
tant resolves were passed, for the better fortifying of the 
colony. But want of unanimity among the members, and 
the alarming prevalence of the small-pox, which induced 
ihe assembly often to shift their place of meeting, hinder- 
3d the accomplishment of anything effectual. Fixing, at 
length, on Brooklyn, as their place of meeting, they pro- 
ceeded to the work of devising ways and means for meet- 
,ng the emergencies of the time. 

preparations for invading Canada. — The government 
it home having despatched orders for the invasion of 
Canada, governor Clinton communicated the royal orders 
o the assembly. An invasion of Canada seems always 
''^to have been a favorite measure with the colonies ; and 
no sooner was the communication made, than the assem- 
bly eagerly responded to it, and proceeded to vote, with- 
out delay, the requisite supplies. 

Endeavors to secure the aid of the Six Nations. — The 
governor hastened to Albany, to enlist anew the feelings 
of the Six Nations, who had, of late, seemed cold and 



160 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXXII. 

wavering, and had even, in one instance, refused their 
cooperation. The influence of the governor over the 
confederate Indians, had been seriously impaired, in con- 
sequence of a quarrel between himself and Mr. Delancey, 
To the latter, colonel Philip Schuyler, (who exerted the 
same influence that his father had, in his life-time, over 
the majority of the confederates,) was greatly attached. 
This circumstance naturally made him slack in any effort 
to promote the views of governor Clinton. The govern- 
or, however, enjoyed a powerful coadjutor in colonel 
Johnson, whose authority was unbounded with the Mo- 
hawks. This individual is the same afterwards so distin- 
guished by his victory over baron Dieskau and the French 
troops at lake George, in 1755., 

At the meeting now held, Mr. Golden — acting for the 
governor, who was, on that occasion, severely indisposed, 
— harangued the Indians in their own style of figurative 
eloquence, with immense effect ; and, on the following 
day, a leading Onondaga chief answered, in presence of 
the governor, for the confederates in general. He gave 
the firmest assurances of their cordial support, expressed 
their inveterate hatred of the French, and their readiness 
to commence the war without delay. In confirmation of 
his speech, the representatives of the Six Nations, sus- 
pended the war-kettle, and danced the war-dance, till late 
at night. The Indians are said, however, not to have 
been perfectly satisfied with the presents made to them, 
on this occasion ; and, indeed, the governor's allusion to 
parsimony, in his next speech to the assembly, seems to 
imply that there was foundation for the surmise. 

Reading Lesson LXXII. 

Disagreements hetween the governor and the assemhly. — 
On the next occasion of meeting the assembly, the gov- 
ernor did not fail to complain of the difficulty of exerting 
any influence on the Indians, owing to the inadequate 
provision made for such purposes. He enlarged, in the 
spirit of reproof, on many other points in which the legis- 
lature seemed insensible to the credit of the national name, 
and exhorted to unanimity and liberality in future meas- 
ures. 

The governor's address received a deliberate and 



i HISTORY.— 1747. 161 

formal answer, in which nothing of the spirit of conces- 
sion was evinced ; but, on the contrary, remonstrance and 
innuendo were freely used. The house contended that 
the governor's officers had transcended their powers, in 
authorizing and enforcing the furnishing of provisions for 
he troops, to an extent greatly beyond the grant or the 
ecessity of the case. The prosecution of the delinquents 
was even recommended. 

The governor, in his next message, furnished an elab- 
Drate reply, in which he concluded with grave admonition 
ind reproof, i-egarding the liberties in which the assembly 
lad indulged towards himself and Mr. Golden. The as- 
sembly made a rejoinder, in very explicit terms, refusing 
arther aid, without assurances of its proper application. 
With this announcement, the governor had to remain 
jontent. 

Appropriation Jbr the founding of a college. — One of the 
pquestionable benefits conferred by the legislature, at 
his session, was the appropriation of two thousand two 
iundred and fifty pounds, — to be raised, however, by 
ottery, — for the establishment of a college. This grant 
vas the germ of Columbia college, which has since effected . 

much for the state, by diffiasing the benefits of classical 
ducation. 

1 The following is judge Smith's language, commenting 
in this fact. 

" To the disgrace of our first planters, who, beyond 
omparison, surpassed their eastern neighbors, in opu- 
pnce, Mr. Delancey, a graduate of the university of Cam- 
ridge, and Mr. Smith, were, for many years, the only 
cademics in this province, except such as were in holy 
rders ; and so late as the period we are now examining, 
e author did not recollect above thirteen more, the 
[oungest of whom had his bachelor's degree at the age 
f seventeen, but two months before the passing of the 
ove law, the first towards erecting a college in this 
ilony, though at the distance of above one hundred and 
enty years after its discovery and the settlement of the 
apital, by Dutch progenitors from Amsterdam." 

Continued disagreements between the governor and the 
ssemhhj. — The Canadian and Indian troops were now, 
1 1747, cruelly devastating the frontier. But the dis- 
lUtes between the governor and the assembly, embarrassed 



1G2 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON LXXIT. 

all public affairs, to such a degree, that no opposing force 
could be maintained. The governor complained bitterly 
of the reluctance of the assembly to provide the means 
of effectual defence, and hinted at the unwillingness of 
the ablest men in Albany to aid in any expedition against 
Canada, because of the advantage they derived from the 
traffic with Canada. 

The disputes between the governor and the assembly 
continued, for years, to embroil the colony, and hinder 
the defence of its territory. The house seemed bent on 
driving Mr. Colden from his place as chief confidant and 
adviser of the governor. The only public measure of 
lasting consequence, passed within this period, was the 
appointing, in 1748, of a resident agent, to represent the 
colony at court. Mr. Robert Charles was the person 
appointed to this office, who, from his political relations, 
was of the party opposed to the governor, and became, 
therefore, the willing channel for complaints against his 
administration. 

Governor Clinton perceiving, now, that the arbitrary 
tone of Mr. Colden, and the inveterate opposition of Mr. 
'Delancey, might lead to his dismissal from office, began 
to cultivate a good understanding with Mr. Morris, for- 
merly mentioned, and who was now about to visit Eng- 
land, for the purpose of soliciting the royal sanction to 
the design of the proprietors of New Jersey, for deter- 
mining the boundary between that colony and New York. 
Against this measui'e Mr. Charles had received instruc- 
tions to protest. 

Mr. Morris gladly accepted, on terms of secrecy, the 
office of advocate at court for the governor ; as he ex- 
pected thus to secure, doubly, the prospect of being 
appointed lieutenant-governor. To such a result, Mr, 
Colden could not be expected to contribute; and he was 
accordingly dismissed fi'om the governor's confidence, and 
bis place supplied by Mr. Alexander. 

The lords of trade, on whom devolved the control of 
colonial affairs, were easily won to favor governor Clin- 
ton, in his struggles with the house of assembly. But 
matters proceeded so slowly, that the governor was fain 
to dissolve the assembly, and abide the results of a new 
election. 



HISTORY.— 1753. 163 

Reading Lesson LXXIII. 

Legislative proceedings in 1750. — The new assembly 
/as, with few exceptions, composed of the same members 
s the former. But, hearing through their agent, Mr. 
/harles, of the intention at court, to have a thorough 
ivestigation of the causes of dispute between the assem- 
ly and the governor, the tone of the legislative body, in 
nswering the governor's address, was comparatively 
aim and moderate ; and the business of the session pro- 
eeded and terminated quietly and satisfactorily, on both 
des. 

Dissolution of the assemhly. — The legislature having 
3sumed, in 1751, something of their former lone of op- 
or>ition to the governor, the latter convened both houses, 
tid instantly dissolved the lower. This measure took 
le liouse entirely by surprise. But the service bills 
aving been passed, there was nothing left but submission 
) the exercise of the governor's prerogative. 

I))fluence of the governor's new counsellors. — The new 
=;sembly met in October, 1752; and the brief, quiet style 
f the governor's address, sufficiently evinced the pru- 
ence of his new counsellors, Messrs. Alexander and 
mith. 

The small-pox still continuing its ravages, the members 
f the house expressed, in an equally brief answer, their 
esire to be excused as speedily as practicable. To this 
le governor expressed his readiness to assent, imme- 
iately on proper provision being made for the public 
Srvice. The house, accordingly, voted to provide, at 
leir next meeting, for various important objects, and, 
mong the rest, for the establishment of the projected 
pllege. 

Remission of the opposition to governor Clinton. — Mr. 
)elancey, who was the prime leader of the party opposed 
) the governoi-, perceiving the turn which affairs were 
iking at court, in favor of the latter, began to moderate 
is opposition to his measui'es ; and this change of posi- 
jOn, on his part, influenced, of course, the action of his 
ssociates. 

State of colonial affairs in 1753. — The assembly was 
ext convened at Jamaica, Long Island ; as the preva- 
3nce of the small-pox continued unintermitted in the city. 



1 64 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXXIU. 

The business of this session proceeded with the utmost 
harmony ; and the governor's health not permitting his 
personal attention to the annual duty of visiting the In- 
dians, colonel Johnson was deputed to supply his place. 
Towards the close of the session, the governor announced 
his expectation of a successor, and his purpose of return- 
ing to England. 

Disputed boundary between New YorJc, and MassacJiu- 
setts and New Hampshire. — The last mentioned of these 
colonies, had arbitrai-ily extended its jurisdiction to within 
twenty and thirty miles of the Hudson river; alleging, in 
justification, that New York had consented to such a line 
of separation from Connecticut. 

Acting under these assumptions, governor Wentworth, 
of New Hampshire, had made large grants of land lying 
within the limits of New York. Against these proceed- 
ings governor Clinton protested ; and it was, at length, 
agreed to submit the whole affair to the decision of the 
king. Mr. Wentworth, however, did not abide by this 
agreement, but secretly forwarded his claims to London, 
and resumed the practice of granting lands within the 
disputed territory. This clandestine procedure led, after- 
wards, to the most serious evils. 

Governor Osborn. — On the 7th of October, 1753, Sir 
Danvers Osborn, the new governor, arrived in New York. 
Mr. Clinton, the ex-governor, was then residing at Flush- 
ing, but waited on his successor, on the following day. 
It was customary, on such occasions, for the governor to 
be sworn into office, before the council, after which, that 
body, with the new incumbent at their head, walked, in pro- 
cession, to the town hall, where the commission was read. 

On the present occasion, a mortifying humiliation was 
inflicted on the ex-governor, by the indecent demeanor 
and hooting of the crowd. To such extent were these in- 
dignities carried, that he quitted the procession, soon after 
its departure from the fort ; and Sir Danvers was left to 
his reflections, amid the shouts of the throng. 

The infei'ence drawn from such premises, by the new 
governor, was, by no means, prepossessing. He was 
aware, moreover, that the instructions which he brought 
over, were such as would probably bring great odium on 
his administration ; and laboring, at the time, under the 
depressing and melancholy effect of the death of his wife, 



HISTORY.— 1753. 165 

is disordered health and excited feelings, left him a prey 
) insanity. Both in public and in private, he seemed 
tterly dejected. His inauguration took place on Mon- 
ay ; and he held his first meeting with his council, for 
usiness, on Thursday. The discouraging answers which 
e received from the members, in regard to the spirit of 
le assembly, caused him much distress. He called a 
hysician, in the evening, complained of increasing ill- 
ess, retired to his chamber, and, in the morning, was 
)und dead, suspended from the spikes of the garden 
'all belonging to the house in which he had taken up 
is temporary residence. Thus suddenly and tragically 
jrminated the official and personal life of governor 
•shorn. 

Reading Lesson LXXIV. 

I Character of Sir Danvers Osborn. — The excited state 
c public feeling in the colony, was such at the time of 
overnor Osborn's decease, that popular clamors of foul 
lay were unthinkingly uttered on the occasion. But 
lese were effectually put down by the plain narrative of 
s secretary, Mr. Pownal, who accompanied him, as ad- 
ser. Sir Danvers's friends who had procured him the 
upointment of governor, were well aware of his de- 
jressed and partially deranged condition, and had ob- 
|ined the office for him, in the hope that change of 
ene, and active exertion, might have a salutary effect 
1 his case. The deceased was universally esteemed, — 

use the words of judge Smith, who had frequent per- 
nal communications with him, — " a man of good sense, 
■eat modesty, and of a genteel and courteous behavior," 
id " strictly conscientious" in the discharge of such du- 
r?s as his limited term of office devolved on him. 

Character of ex-governor Clinton. — " Mr. Clinton," con- 
hues the historian, " had no soonei' given up the reins, 
Ian he retired to the east end of Long Island, whence 
V embarked ; but not till he had suffered the keenest 
tDrtification, under the late unexpected vicissitudes; for 
I not only heard himself execrated, and saw his enemy 
jvanced and applauded, but was a witness to the un- 
{ateful desertions of some of those he had raised and 
(liged. He had, nevertheless, the spirit to reject some 
isidious advancements made by Mr. Delancey, towards 



166 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.- LESSON LXXV. 

a reconciliation ; and thus parting foes, that artful poli- 
tician, who could not win him by blandishment, resolved 
to parry his resentments, and enervate his testimony, hy 
loading him with disgrace. Thus he cut him out work, 
when he arrived in England, for the defence of himself 
He sailed in the Arundel, about the beginning of Novem- 
ber. Easy in his temper, but incapable of business, he 
was always obliged to rely on some favorite. In a prov- 
ince given to hospitality, he erred by immuring himself ir 
the fort, or retiring to a grotto in the country, where his 
time was spent with his bottle and a little, trifling circle, 
who played at billiards with his lady, and lived on his 
bounty. His manner of living was the very reverse of 
that requisite to raise a party or to make friends. He was 
seldom abroad ; many of the citizens never saw him ; he 
did not even attend divine worship above three or foui 
times during his whole administration. His capital error 
was gratifying Mr. Delancey with a commission, which 
rendered him independent and assuming, and then re- 
posing equal confidence in Golden, who was interested 
in procuring his recall, or rendering the country his 
abhorrence. He saw that event ; and to prepare for it, 
ventured upon measures that exposed him to censure. 

" Mrs. Clinton prompted her husband, wh(jse good na- 
ture gave place to her superior understanding, to every 
plausible device for enhancing the profits of his govern- 
ment. He sometimes took money for offices, and sold 
even the reversions of such that were merely ministerial. 
He set the precedent f )r the high fees since demanded 
for land patents, and boldly relied upon the interest of his 
patrons, to screen him from reprehension. He became 
afterwards governor of Greenwich hospital. Mr. Clin- 
ton's accounts for expenditures, in consequence of the 
duke of Newcastle's orders of 1746, amounted to eighty- 
four thousand pounds sterling ; and it was supposed that 
the governor returned to England with a fortune very 
little short of that sum." 

SEC. XL— FIRST ADMINISTRATION OF LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 
DELANCEY.— 1753-1755. 

Reading Lesson LXXV. 
Accession of lieutenant-governor Delancey. — Governor 
Clinton's last official act was the delivery to Mr. Delan- 



HISTORY.-1T53 167 

:ey of his commission, as lieutenant-governor, imme- 
liately after the surrender of the seals of office to 8ir 
Danvers Osborn. Mr, Delancey, accordingly, became 
governor, pro tern., on the death of Sir Danvers. 

Special instruction to governor Osborn. — The British 
ministry, aware of the distracted state of the colony, from 
Dolitical faction, had sent over, by governor Osborn, a 
strict injunction to urge the appropriation of a fixed and 
permanent revenue, and an adequate provision for all 
public disbursements, rendered necessary, in any form, 
for the interests of the crown or the colony. All expendi- 
iuies weie directed to be made by virtue of the governor's 
warrant, with the advice and consent of his council, and 
ivithout the interference of the assembly. The governor's 
salai'y was fixed at a definite sum, not to be increased by 
iny occasional grant, although susceptible of permanent 
enlargement, if the addition should be made within a year 
f the governor's inauguration. 

Cordiality between the assembly and the lieutenant-gov- 
rnor. — The new articles of instruction seemed likely to 
mbarrass the administration of the new incumbent. But 
py dexterously managing to rebuke, in public, and foster, 
'n private, the well-known spirit of the house, the acting 
governor contrived to keep on good terms with that body, 
md to receive a high salary for himself, and reasonable 
ippropriations for the emergencies of the public service. 
File assembly, however, continued firmly to refuse a per- 
nanent revenue, for which refusal a guarded reproof was 
idministered in the governor's speech, at the close of the 
;esslon. 

TJie assembly''s addresses to the king and the lords of 
rade. — An exculpatory address to the king was drawn 
ip, at this session, and transmitted to England. In this 
Daper, all imputations of disaffection or disloyalty, were 
ndignantly repelled. An address, or rather, a complaint, 
vas, at the same time, forwarded to the " lords of trade 
md plantation." The chief object of this communication, 
A'as to complain, in bitter terms, of the conduct of ex- 
governor Clinton. The most grievous accusations and 
reproaches were, in this paper, heaped on his whole 
idministration, as unjust, dishonorable, incompetent, and 
3very way disgraceful to the colony and the nation. 
Free access given to the public library. — Amid the polit- 



168 NEW-YORK CLASS-EOOK.— LESSON LXXVI. 

ical perplexities and social troubles of the times, it is 
pleasing to see traces of a generous interest in the welfare 
of the people, manifested by men of education and of 
influence. In 1754, a handsome sum was raised for the 
purpose of facilitating access to the public library, to non- 
subscribers ; and measures were adopted for procuring, 
at a subsequent day, the addition of an appropriate build- 
ing for a museum and an observatory ; the books being 
as yet deposited in the town hall, though under the care 
of a librarian. 

Legislative proceedings in 1754. — Governor Dinwiddia 
of Virginia, having, at this time, called on the other 
colonies for aid to suppress the attempts made by the 
French, to erect forts on the Ohio river, lieutenant-govern- 
or Delancey called on the house for means. The assem- 
bly, when voting the usual supplies of the year, made a 
limited appropriation for this purpose, but complained of 
the large draughts already made on the public treasury, 
for objects connected with the defence of the colony. 
The appropriations voted, however, were all to be made 
under the inspection of the house. To this arrangement, 
the council objected, of course; and, in remodelling their 
grants, the assembly, in displeasure, omitted the provision 
for aid to Virginia. When admonished on this subject, 
by the governor, they asked for a prorogation. This 
was granted and accompanied with a threat to report the 
undutiful behavior of the legislature to his majesty. This 
threat, however, was thought to be made more for form's 
sake than otherwise. 

Reading Lesson LXXVI. 

Meeting of colonial deputies at Albany. — The 14th of 
June, 1754, was distinguished by an event hitherto un- 
precedented in American history, — the assembling of a 
congress of deputies from all the British colonies, for the 
purpose of concerting measures for the common defence. 
Of this congress, Mr. Delancey was president. Extensive 
schemes were here proposed for a permanent union of 
the colonies, in one general government, M'hile each colo- 
ny should retain its own constitution. But the coldness 
of Mr. Delancey, and a want of unanimity on the part of 
the other members, defeated all attempts at regular action, 



HISTORY.— 1751. 169 

in this body ; altliougli a very systematic plan was pre- 
sented by Ml-. Smith, — a plan which that of Dr. Franklin 
afterwards so closely copied, and which was, in fact, an 
imperfect outline of the present federal constitution of the 
United States. Nothing, however, was effected, on this 
occasion, beyond a favorable impression on the minds of 
the confederated Indians who were present; and who 
expressed their readiness to cooperate with the English 
colonies against the French. 

Farther action of the legislature, in 1754. — News of the 
repulse of colonel Washington, by the French force, hav- 
ing arrived at Albany, during the session of the temporary 
colonial congress, governor Delancey, on his return to 
New York, urged the assembly to make appropriations 
for the aid of Virginia and Pennsylvania. The answer 
returned was apparently grudging and unfavorable, al- 
though accompanied by a grant of five thousand pounds. 
1 Discontents occasioned hy the chartering of King's col- 
lege. — The proceeds arising from the lotteries granted 
for the endowment of a college, had, in 1751, been com- 
mitted to the care o£ a body of trustees, consisting of the 
eldest councillors, the speaker, the judges of the supreme 
30urt, the mayor of the metropolis, the province treasurer, 
ind several eminent citizens. The trustees were empow- 
3red to add to the fund five hundred pounds, annually, 
Hrawn from the treasury, for seven years, at the end of 
A'hich time, the course of instruction in the college was 
o commence. In the year 1752, the wardens and rector 
)f Trinity church offered a part of their suburban estate, 
IS a site for the erection of the college ; and, in the fol- 
owing year. Dr. Johnson, the episcopal minister at Hart- 
brd, Connecticut, was invited to the presidency, and Mr. 
Vhittlesey, a presbyterian minister of New Haven, to 
issist him in instruction. 

The known partiality of the lieutenant-governor and 
nost of the council, for the forms of the episcopal church, 
!xcited distrust and jealousy in the minds of the people 
>f other denominations ; and the press was loud in its de- 
lunciation of measures which seemed intended to convert 
unds contributed by all denominations, to the uses of 
»ne. 

The intentions of the majority of the trustees, were, 
ire long, rendered apparent, by a resolution to elect no 



170 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON LXXVII. 

individual to the presidency who was not of the episco- 
pal body, and, farther, to introduce the book of common 
prayer, for the religious exercises of the college. 

The governor refened the matter to the council; and 
the measure was authorized, notwithstanding the protest 
of Messrs. Alexander and Smith. Mr. Delancey, himself, 
who seems to have had scruples as to the legality or the 
propriety of this step, yielded, at length, his consent ; 
and the great seal was affixed to the charter, — including 
the objectionable features. This act of the lieutenant- 
governor excited a general hostility ; as the episcopalians 
were few in number, compared with other denominations 
in the metropolis. 

To allay the general dissatisfaction, the assembly order- 
ed the tiustees to report their proceedings under the act 
by which they had been appointed. A petition was also 
very opportunely presented from the ministers, elders, 
and deacons, of the Dutch reformed church, to tlie effect 
that the college ought to be incorporated by act of legis- 
lature. The trustees and the house seemed equally di- 
vided in their views. The latter, however, decided to 
forbid any disposal of the funds of the college, but in ac- 
cordance with legislative act. Leave was given to Mr. 
Robert Livingston, of Livingston manor, to biing in a bill 
for the incorporation of the college ; and his draught was 
immediately presented. 

Mr. Livingston's bill encountered serious impediments. 
It could not be approved by the governor and council, 
who had already authorized the establishment of the col- 
lege, on the exclusive principle. The assembly although 
they did not dare to reject it, lest they should offend the 
people, could not pass it in consistency with their party 
prejudices. The bill, therefore, was, for the present, laid 
on the table, with a resolution to print it, for more mature 
considexation. 

Reading Lesson LXXVII. 

The city of New York in the year 1755. — At this period 
of comparative stagnancy in our colonial history, it may 
not be uninteresting to pause, for a moment, and contem- 
plate the then humble aspect of the city of New York, in 
contrast with its present flourishing condition. Judge 



i 



HISTORY.— 1755. 171 

Smith, in his History, gives the following graphic sketch 
of New York as it existed at the date mentioned above. 

*' The city of New York consists of about two thousand 
five hundred buildings. It is a mile in length, and not 
above half that in breadth. Such are its figure, its centre 
of business, and the situation of the houses, that the mean 
cartage, from one part to another, does not exceed above 
one quarter of a mile, than which nothing can be more 
advantageous to a trading city. 

" It is thought to be as healthy a spot as any in the 
world. The east and south paits, in general, are low ; 
but the rest is situated on a dry, elevated soil. The 
streets are irregular, but, being paved with round pebbles, 
are clean, and lined with well-built brick houses, many of 
which are covered with tiled roofs. 

" No part of America is supplied with markets abound- 
ing with greater plenty and variety. We have beef, pork, 
mutton, poultry, butter, wild fowl, venison, fish, roots, and 
herbs, of all kinds, in their seasons. Our oysters are a 
considerable article in the support of the poor. Their 
beds are within view of the town ; a fleet of two hundred 
small craft are often seen there, at a time, when the 
weather is mild in winter ; and this single article is com- 
puted to be worth, annually, ten or twelve thousand 
pounds. 

" This city is the metropolis and grand mart of the 
province, and, by its commodious situation, commands, 
also, all the trade of the western part of Connecticut, and 
that of east Jersey. No season prevents our ships from 
launching out into the ocean. During the greatest se- 
verity of winter, an equal, unrestrained activity runs 
through all ranks, orders, and employments. 

" Upon the southwest point of the city, stands the fort, 
which is a square, with four bastions. Within the walls 
lis the house in which our governor usually resides ; and 
.opposite to it, brick barracks, built formerly for the inde 
ipendent companies. The governor's house is, in height, 
ithree stories, and fronts to the west; having, from the 
(Second story, a fine prospect of the bay and the Jersey 
ishore. 

" Below the walls of the garrison, near the water, we 
have lately raised a line of fortifications, which commands 
the entrance into the eastern road and the mouth of Hud- 



172 NEW YORK CLASS BOOK-LESSON LXXVIIL 

son's river. This battery is built of stone ; and the mer- 
lons consist of cedar joists, filled in with earth. It 
mounts ninety-two cannon ; and these are all the works 
we have to defend us. 

" About six furlongs southeast of the fort, lies Notten 
island, containing about one hundred or one hundred and 
twenty acres, reserved, by an act of assembly, as a sort of 
demesne for the governors, upon which it is proposed to 
erect a strong castle, because an enemy might from thence 
easily bombard the city, without being annoyed either by 
our battery or the fort. During the late war, a line of 
palisadoes was run from Hudson's to the East river, at 
the other end of the city, with block-houses, at small dis- 
tances. The greater part of these still remain, as a mon- 
ument of our folly, which cost the province about eight 
thousand pounds. 

" The inhabitants of New York are a mixed people, 
but mostly descended from the original Dutch planters. 
There are still two churches in which religious worship 
is performed in that language. The old building is of 
stone and ill built, ornamented within by a small organ 
loft and brass branches. The new church is a high, 
heavy edifice, has a very extensive area, and was com- 
pleted in 1729. It has no galleries, and yet will perhaps 
contain a thousand or twelve hundred auditors. The 
steeple of this church affords a most beautiful prospect, 
both of the city beneath, and the surrounding country. 
The Dutch congregation is more numerous than any 
other ; but as the language becomes disused, it is much 
diminished ; and, unless they change their worship into 
the English tongue, must soon suffer a total dissipation." 

Reading Lesson LXXVIIL 

Description of the city of New York in 1755, continued. — 
" The city hall is a strong brick building, two stories in 
height, in the shape of an oblong, winged with one at 
each end, at right angles with the first. The floor below 
is an open walk, except two jails and the jailor's apart- 
ments. The cellar, underneath, is a dungeon ; and the 
garret above, a common prison. This edifice is erected 
on a place where four streets meet, and fronts, to the 
southwest, one of the most spacious streets in town. 



HISTORy,-1755. 1 73 

The eastern wing, in the second story, consists of the 
assembly chamber, a lobby, and a small room for the 
speaker of the house. The west wing, on the same floor, 
forms the council room and a library ; and, in the space 
between the ends, the supreme court is ordinarily held." 

" Besides the city hall, there belong to the corporation, 
a large alms-house, or place of correction, and the ex- 
change,' — in the latter of which there is a large room, 
raised upon brick arches, generally used for public enter- 
tainments, concerts of music, balls, and assemblies. 

" Though the city was put under the government of a 
mayor, in 1665, it was not regularly incorporated till 
1686. Since that time, several charters have been pass- 
ed : the last was granted by governor Montgomerie, on 
the 15th of January, 1730. 

" The city is divided into seven wards, and is under 
the government of a mayor, recorder, seven aldermen, 
and as many assistants, or common councilmen. The 
mayor, a sheriff, and coroner, are annually appointed by 
the governor. The recorder has a patent ' during pleas- 
ure.' The aldermen, assistants, assessors, and collectors, 
are annually elected by the freemen and freeholders of 
the respective wards. The mayor has the sole appoint- 
ment of a deputy, and, together with four aldermen, may 
appoint a chamberlain. The mayor or recorder, four 
aldermen, and as many assistants, form ' the common 
council of the city of New York ;' and this body, by a 
majority of voices, hath power to make by-laws for the 
government of the city, which are binding only for a year, 
unless confirmed by the governor and council. 
1 " The annual revenue of the corporation is near two 
thousand pounds. The standing militia of the island, con- 
sists of about twenty-three hundred men ;* and the city 
has, in reserve, a thousand stand of arms, for seamen, the 
poor, and others, — in case of an invasion." 

The follotcing is a picture of the city of Albany, at this 
period. — " The city of Albany, which is near a hundred 
and fifty miles from New York, is situated on the west 

* " The whole number of the inhabitants, exclusive of females above 
sixty, according to a list returned to the governor, in spring, 1756, 
xmounted to 10,468 whites, and 2,275 negroes; but that account is 
srroneous. It is most probable that there are in the city 15,000 
souls." 



174 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXXIX. 

side of the river. There our governors usually treat 
with the Indian dependents upon the British crown. The 
houses are built of brick in the Dutch taste, and are in 
number about three hundred and fifty. There are two 
churches in it. That of the episcopalians, the only one 
in this large county, is a stone building; the congregation 
is but small, almost all the inhabitants resorting to the 
Dutch church, which is a plain, square, stone edifice. 
Besides these, they have no other public buildings, except 
the city hall and the fort ; the latter of which is a stone 
square, with four bastions, situated on an eminence which 
overlooks the town,_ but is itself commanded by higher 
ground. The greatest part, of the city is fortified only by 
palisadoes; and, in some places, there are small cannon 
planted in block-houses. Albany was incorporated by 
colonel Dongan, in 1686, and is under the government 
of a mayor, recorder, six aldermen, and as many assistants. 
It has also a sheriff", town clerk, chamberlain, clei'k of the 
markets, one high constable, three sub-constables, and a 
marshal. The corporation is empowered besides to hold 
a mayor's court, for the trial of civil causes, and a court 
of general quarter sessions." 

" The banks of Hudson's river are, for the most part, 
rocky cliffs, especially on the western shore. The pas- 
sage through the Highlands affords a wild romantic scene, 
for sixteen miles, through steep and lofty mountains : the 
tide flows a few miles above Albany ; the navigation is 
safe, and performed in sloops of about forty or fifty tons 
burden, extremely well accommodated to the river : about 
sixty miles above the city of New York the water is fresh, 
and, in wet seasons, much lower; the river is stored with 
variety of fish, which renders a summer's passage to Al- 
bany exceedingly diverting to such as are fond of an- 
gling." 

Reading Lesson LXXIX. 

- Character and condition of the people of the colony. — 
" English is the most prevailing language, amongst us, but 
not a little corrupted by the Dutch dialect, which is still 
so much used in some counties, that the sheriffs find it 
difficult to obtain persons, sufficiently acquainted with the 
English tongue, to serve as jurors in the courts of law. 
" The manners of the people differ as well as their 



HISTORY.— 1755. 175 

language. In Suffolk and Queen's county, the first 
settlers of which were either natives of England, or the 
il^imediate descendants of such as began the plantations 
in the eastern colonies, their customs are similar to those 
prevailing in the English counties from whence they 
originally sprang. 

" In the city of New York, through our intercourse 
with the Europeans, we follow the London fashions ; 
though, by the time we adopt them, they become disused 
in England. Our affluence, during the late war, intro- 
duced a degree of luxury in tables, dress, and furniture, 
with which we were before unacquainted. But still we 
are not so gay a people as our neighbors in Boston, and 
several of the southern colonies. The Dutch counties, in 
some nieasui'e, follow the example of New York, but still 
retain many modes pecuHar to the Hollanders. 

" The city of New York consists principally of mer- 
chants, shopkeepers, and tradesmen, who sustain the 
reputation of honest, punctual, and fair dealers. With 
respect to riches, there is not so great an inequality 
amongst us as is common in Boston and some other 
places. Every man of industry and integrity, has it in 
his power to live well ; and many are the instances of 
persons who came here disti-essed by their poverty, who 
now enjoy easy and plentiful fortunes. 

" New York is one of the most social places on the 
continent. The men collect themselves into weekly 
evening clubs. The ladies, in winter, are frequently en- 
tertained either at concerts of music or assemblies, and 
make a very good appearance. They are comely and 
dress well, and scarce any of them have distorted shapes. 
Tmctured with a Dutch education, they manage their 
families with becoming parsimony, good providence, and 
singular neatness. The practice of extravagant gaming, 
common to the fashionable fair sex, in some places, is a 
vice with which my countrywomen cannot justly be 
charged. There is nothing they so generally neglect as 
reading, and, indeed, all the arts for the improvement of 
the mind ; — in which, I confess, we have set them the 
example. They are modest, temperate, and charitable ; 
naturally sprightly, sensible, and good-humored ; and, by 
the helps of a moi-e elevated education, would possess all 
the accomplishments desirable in the sex. 



176 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK— LESSON LXXIX. 

" Our schools are in the lowest order ; — the instructors 
want instruction; and, through a long shameful neglect 
of all the arts and sciences, our common speech is ej^ 
tremely corrupt, and the evidences of a bad taste, both as 
to thought and language, are visible in all our proceed- 
ings, public and private. 

" The people, both in town and country, are sober, in- 
dustrious, and hospitable, though intent upon gain. The 
richer sort keep very plentiful tables, abounding with 
great varieties of flesh, fish, fowl, and all kinds of vegeta- 
bles. The common drinks are beer, cider, weak punch, . 
and Madeira wine. For dessert, we have fruits in vast 
plenty, of different kinds and various species, 

" Gentlemen of estates rarely reside in the country ; , 
and hence few or no experiments have yet been made in 
agriculture. The farms being large, our husbandmen, for 
that reason, have little recourse to art for manuring and 
improving their lands ; but it is said, that nature has fur- 
nished us with sufficient helps, whenever necessity calls 
us to use them. It is much owing to the disproportion 
between the number of our inhabitants, and the vast tracts 
remaining still to be settled, that we have not, as yet, en- 
tered upon scarce any other manufactures than such as 
are indispensably necessary for our home convenience. 
Felt-making, which is perhaps the most natural of any we 
could fall upon, was begun some years ago ; and hats 
were exported to the West Indies, with great success, 
till lately prohibited by an act of parliament. 

" The inhabitants of this colony are, in general, healthy 
and robust, taller, but shorter-lived, than Europeans, and, 
both with respect to their minds and bodies, arrive sooner 
to an age of maturity. Breathing a serene, dry air, they 
are more sprightly in their natural tempers, than the peo- 
ple of England, and hence instances of suicide are here 
very uncommon. The history of our diseases belongs to 
a profession with which I am very little acquainted. Few 
physicians amongst us are eminent for their skill. Quacks 
abound like locusts in Egypt ; and too many have recom- 
mended themselves to a full practice and profitable sub- 
sistence." 

"Our importation of dry goods from England, is so 
vastly great, that we are obliged to betake ourselves to 
all possible arts to make remittances to the British mer- 



HISTORY.— 1755, 1 77 

chants. It is for this purpose we import cotton from St. 
Thomas's and Surinam ; hme-juice and Nicaragua wood 
from Curacao ; and logwood from the Bay, etc. : and yet it 
3rains us of all the silver and gold we can collect. It is 
computed, that the annual amount of the goods purchased 
ay this colony in Great Britain, is, in value, not less than 
£100,000 sterling; and the sum would be much greater, 
fa stop was put to all clandestine trade." 

" Our people, both in town and country, are shamefully 
Tone into the habit of tea-drinking ; and, it is supposed, 
ive consume of this commodity in value near .£10,000 
sterling per annum." 

Reading Lesson LXXX. 

Fresh preparations for Jiostilities with the French. — 
jrreat alarm was spread throughout the colony, by the 
extensive measures of the French, for securing possession 
)f the whole of British North America. The acting gov- 
ernor summoned an extraordinary meeting of the legisla- 
ure, on the 10th of January, 1755, to prepare for emer- 
gencies ; and a large supply was unanimously voted. 
' Governor Shirley of Massachusetts, was, at this time, 
pressing on the attention of the colonies, as well as the 
British ministry, the necessity of striking a final blow at 
he French possessions in Canada. The ministry had, at 
ength, acceded to his wishes ; and a descent on Canada 
vas to take place from the Kennebec, and from lakes 
])hamplain and Ontario ; while the regular and colonial 
brce, under general Braddock, was to lay siege to the 
J'rench forts on the Ohio. 

Mr. Pownal was despatched to New York, as governor 
Shirley's messenger, on this occasion ; and, although, at 
Irst, his reception, on the part of acting-governor Delan- 
;ey and the council, was but indifferent, the spirit of the 
issembly was, as on all former occasions of a similar na- 
ure, immediately aroused, and supplies voted according- 
ly, but left, for final decision, to the judgment of general 
3raddock. 

The extermination of the French, or the complete con- 
juest of Canada, always seemed to the colonists the only 
eliable measure for the permanent safety, or even the 
ixistence, of the British colonies. Hence the readiness 



178 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXXX. 

with which extensive grants could be obtained of the leg- 
islature, in circumstances such as the present. The dila- 
tory habits of action, however, to which the colonial offi- 
cers had so long been accustomed, by the backwardness of 
the legislature and the executive, on previous occasions, 
exposed them to animadversion from governor Shirley, 
as he passed up the river, with his own quota of force, 
on his way to Niagara. 

Anticipations of the arrival of a new governor. — The zeal 
of warlike preparation was now somewhat slackened by 
the rumor of the speedy arrival of a new governor. Sir 
Charles Hardy, and by the increasing disaffection of the 
people towards Mr. Delancey, in consequence of his 
course regarding the newly-chartered college ; although 
he had done his best to retrieve that false step, by grant- 
ing permission to the Dutch church, to choose and main- 
tain a professor of their own communion. 

Continued controversy with Massachusetts. — The en- 
croachments of the Massachusetts colony on the territory 
of New York, continued still to harass the frontier ; and 
the settlement of the boundary question seemed farther 
than ever from adjustment. 

Effects ofBraddock's defeat. — The utter failure of Brad- 
dock's expedition, increased the alarm for the safety of 
the British colonies. Governor Delancey although some- 
what dilatory, now urged, on the attention of the legisla- 
ture, the necessity of fresh aid to the expeditions against 
Niagara and Crown Point. But having, for private ends, 
communicated to the house the information that the relics 
of Brad dock's force were expected at Albany, the vote 
of supply was limited to provision for the reception and 
refreshment of the regular force. On hearing, however, 
of the vigorous preparations made by Massachusetts and 
Connecticut, a hortatory message was sent down to the 
house, moving them to yet larger sacrifices in providing 
for the common defence, and for the destruction of the 
common enemy. 

sec. xil— admlmstration of governor hardy.— 1755-1757. 

Reading Lesson LXXXI. 

Accession of governor Hardy. — On the 2d of September, 
of the same year. Sir Charles Hardy arrived, to enter 



HISTORY.— 1755. 179 

upon the duties of governor, and soon indicated the 
probable character of his administration, by suiTendering 
iiimself to the counsels and guidance of Mr. Delancey. 
The usual courtesies passed between the new governor 
and the assembly ; and the house appropriated eight 
thousand pounds, towards defraying the expenses of a 
levy of two thousand men, in the colony of Connecticut, — 
a force intended for operations on the frontier region of 
New York. 

Defeat of the French at lake George. — On the 12th of 
September arrived intelligence of the repulse of the 
French force near lake George, and of the capture and 
death of baron Dieskau, the French commander. The 
battle was fought on the Sth ; and, immediately after the 
arrival of the news, governor Hardy departed for Albany, 
to expedite the Connecticut reinforcement. 

This success of the colonial arms was, by some, magni- 
fied into a momentous victory. But its main value lay in 
the impression it produced on both sides; and, in this 
respect, it was of the greatest advantage, in raising the 
spirits of the British colonies. 

The circumstances of the encounter were these. — Gen- 
eral Johnson left Albany, with the artillery, on the Sth of 
August, and reached the south end of lake George, but a 
few days before the appearance of the French, and had 
not had time fully to fortify his camp. 

Baron Dieskau had assembled about three thousand 
men at Crown Point, and detached a small body of regu- 
lars, supported by twelve hundred Canadians and Indians, 
to devastate the country, as far down as Albany. 

When near fort Edward, however, he turned back, on 
hearing of the position of the force under general Johnson, 
and attempted to carry the imperfectly fortified camp. 
He drove in, without much difficulty, the advanced troops 
of the British colonists; but as he did notToUow up his 
advantage by an assault, the camp, at first thrown into 
confusion, by the suddenness of the enemy's approach, 
had time to come to order, and bring their artillery into 

The havoc which ensued among the mixed force of 
Dieskau, soon left him unsupported by any but his few 
regulars. He had, moreover, the misfortune to receive a 
severe wound ; and nothing now remained for him, but 



180 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXXXI. 

to expedite his retreat to his boats at South Bay. Before 
he could accomphsh this, however, he was again wounded, 
and, at length, overtaken and captured, but did not long 
survive the mortification of defeat. His wounds proved 
mortal ; and his country lost, in him, a faithful and able 
officer, although one unaccustoined to the emergencies of 
American border warfare. 

Sir William Johnson received, in the early part of the 
battle, a wound which disabled him for action ; and the 
subsequent part of the action was conducted by general 
Lyman of Connecticut. The Indian allies of the English 
took no pai't in this affair, and, soon after, returned to 
their forts on the Mohawk. M 

Advantage was taken of the impression produced by " 
this victory, to construct fort William Henry, as an addi- 
tional security for the frontier. But the French were not 
less active, meanwhile, in erecting one at Ticonderoga. 

Residts of the Niagara expedition. — Governor Shirley's 
expedition to Niagara, secured the fort at Oswego. But 
the time consumed in buildingf vessels for the navigation 
of lake Ontario, and the impossibility of commanding 
supplies of provision, at so great a distance, rendered it 
impracticable to embai'k, till too late in the season. All, 
thei'efore, that could be done, was, to strengthen the post 
at Oswego, and return to Albany. There the general 
met colonel Dunbar, with the surviving troops of Brad- 
dock's command, who had arrived for the purpose of 
taking up their winter quarters in the town. From Al- 
bany, general Shirley went to New York, to meet with 
the other colonial governors and commanders, for the 
purpose of planning the next year's campaign. 

Revival of the question of a j)ermanent revenue for the 
government. — On his return to the metropolis. Sir Charles 
announced to the assembly his instructions to insist on 
regular provision being made for a permanent revenue, 
for the support of the colonial government. He urged, 
on the attention of the legislature, the exigences of the 
pubhc service, arising out of the late expedition and other 
causes. The answer of the assembly was, that there was 
no convenient fund from which to derive a permanent 
revenue ; that any measure for securing such a provision, 
was contrary to the feelings of the whole colony; and 
that it was hoped the house would be excused from the 



HISTORY.— 175(5. 181 

consideration of this question. The governor, being 
wholly under the influence of Mr. Delancey, took no 
special umbrage at the neglect of the royal requirement, 
and gained greatly, therefore, on the general good-will, 
which was still farther enhanced by his known opposition 
to general Shii-ley. This officer, from his impatient ex- 
pressions regarding the dilatory movements of the colony, 
and his avowed preferences for New England, had in- 
curred much odium among the commonalty of New York ; 
so that he met a cool reception, on his return ; while 
general Johnson was welcomed with every public demon- 
stration of joy. 

Reading Lesson LXXXII. 

Meeting of colonial governor and military officers, at 
New York. — The plan proposed by general Shirley, for 
military operations against the French, included, in the 
first place, a winter expedition against Ticonderoga, and 
next, an extended series of operations designed to drive 
the French from their strongholds at Frontenac and To- 
ronto, and thus debar them from access to lake Ontario. 
Measures were to be taken, likewise, to cut off the com- 
munications between east and west Canada, and the Ohio 
and Mississippi. 

Refusal of the assembly to aid general Shirley's projected 
ex])editimi against Ticonderoga. — On the 10th of January, 
1756, while general Shirley was yet staying in New York, 
to prosecute his scheme for the reduction of Ticonderoga, 
the assembly refused their aid, unless a larger number of 
regulars were assigned, to accompany the colonial troops 
on that service. In this precaution, the assembly acted 
wisely ; as the colonial levies, though exceedingly useful 
in skirmishing expeditions, were not the most effective 
species of force for the reduction of fortified places. Gen- 
eral Shirley replied that a larger draft on the regular 
troops would disorganize the plan of the year's cam- 
paign already settled. The assembly adhered to their 
first position ; and the general went eastward, to stir up 
the New-England colonies to his aid. 

Position of Mr. Delancey. — During a long period of 
official service, as acting governor, Mr. Delancey had held 
a distinguished place, and exerted a powerful control, in 
colonial affairs. His personal character had also contrib- 



1 82 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON LXXXII. 

uted, by its authoritative weight, to make him formidable ; 
and he had shown that he knew well how to gain a full 
ascendency over the popular feeling. On the accession 
of Sir Charles Hardy, he had suddenly become, if possi- 
ble, still more formidable than ever, by assuming the po- 
sition of the unseen and irresponsible " power behind the 
throne." 

It became now a subject of earnest speculation wheth- 
er he would issue, invested with the formal powers of 
lieutenant-governor, or resume his seat, as chief-justice, 
on the bench ; as it was well understood that an aspiring 
mind, like his, would never be content to fill the unno- 
ticed place of a mere adviser to the executive. 

It was, therefore, with no ordinary pleasure, that the 
friends of liberty saw him resume his place upon the 
bench. 

Indian ravages on Ulster and Orange counties. — The 
Indian tribes in the French interest, were, meanwhile, 
ravasfingr the frontier region of Ulster and Orange coun- 
ties ; and, to repel these attacks, the immediate levy of a 
sufficient force had become necessary. The governor 
accordingly applied to the legislature for the requisite 
supplies. But that body manifested a desire to involve 
this subject in the more general one of a united eifort for 
the common defence, on the part of New York, New 
Jersey, and Pennsylvania ; retaining, however, a portion 
of the troops, for the purpose of local defence, in the re- 
gion exposed to attacks by the Indians. 

The continued and increasing cruelties experienced by 
the sufferers, at length roused the assembly to action ; 
and the management of Mr. Delancey, and the pliancy 
of the governor, having removed the reluctance of the 
assembly, the necessary vote was soon obtained. This 
fresh triumph of Mr. Delancey's influence secured his full 
ascendency over the governor. The impediment regard- 
ing the legislative grant, had been the unwillingness of 
the house to vote supplies, till a previous bill, involving a 
liberal compensation to Mr. Delancey, had" been passed. 
A hint from that individual to the governor, explained the 
difficulty, and induced his assent to the bill in question, 
which he had withheld, in consequence of the earnest 
protest of some of Mr. Delancey's opponents. 

Mr. Delancey was, in this affair, actuated by personal 



'HI3TORY.-1756. 183 

motives ; but the result was highly favorable to the inter- 
ests of the colony. Its effect, even on the British min- 
istry, was to induce the abandoning of all objections to 
the plan of an annual vote for the salaries of public offi- 
cers. It probably had its effect, also, in ultimately indu- 
cing the relinquishing of all opposition to the favorite 
colonial scheme of furnishing only an annual revenue, — 
the great means of holding the government in strict de- 
pendence, for all grants of money, on the consent and ap- 
probation of the colony. This, it will be seen, was the 
true germ of the American revolution. That event origi- 
nated in the determination of the colonists not to be taxed 
without their own consent ; and the long struggle which 
the people of New York maintained, with so much vigor 
and independence, against so many successive governors, 
proved the school of training in which the people were 
prepared for the stei'ner resistance demanded at the time 
af the revolution. 

Decline of governor Hardy^s popularity. — Several cir- 
cumstances conspired, about this time, to diminish the 
governor's favor with the community. He had seized 
several vessels engaged in an illicit traffic with Hamburg 
and Holland, which had previously been connived at ; 
and his position had sunk in comparison with that of gen- 
3ral Johnson, the great idol of the day, at home, as well 
as the favorite abroad. Another circumstance which de- 
ducted from the governor's importance, was the arrival 
Df several regiments of British troops, the splendid style 
of whose officers dazzled the eyes of the people. 

Reading Lesson LXXXIII. 

Arrival of lord Loudon. — On the 23d of July, in this 
year, the earl of Loudon, who had been appointed com- 
mander-in-chief of the British forces in America, arrived 
at New York, and superseded general Shirley, who, 
shortly after, returned to Boston, and thence to England. 

The new generalissimo excited the disgust of governor 
Hardy, by rejecting his counsel, in military affair's, and 
refusing his request of two independent companies, for 
bis guards of honor. Between an old sailor, like the gov- 
srnor, and a young soldier, like lord Loudon, there could 
be but little harmony of feeling. 



184 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON LXXXIII. 

Panic at the loss of the fort at Oswego. — The high ex- 
pectations formed, in consequence of the large accession 
of regular troops, for the defence of the colony, were des- 
tined to disappointment, when, to the consternation of all, 
the fort at Oswego was besieged and taken. So much 
was general Webb alarmed at the intelligence, that he 
had trees felled to obstruct Wood creek ; and the com- 
mander-in-chief despatched Sir William Johnson, with the 
militia, for the security of the British force at the Oneida , 
portage. The following extract from a letter of the speak- 
er of the house of assembly to the colonial agent in Lon- 
don, will serve to show the impression produced by the' 
fall of Oswego. 

" I acquainted you that we were in great expectation 
of a successful campaign. But our disappointment is 
rather greater than that of the last year ; for, instead of 
our taking Crown Point, the enemy have made themselves 
masters of the important fortress of Oswego, taken the 
whole garrison prisoners of war, demolished all the forti- 
fications, carried away all the armed vessels, two hundred 
whale-boats, cannon, provisions, and warlike stores ; and 
this, it is said, they did in a few days' time, — a dishonor 
to the British name. Oh ! shameful behavior of our 
forces ! We have now no footing on lake Ontario : all 
is left to the uninterrupted possession of the enemy, who 
will doubtless dispossess us of all that we have remaining, 
if not suddenly stopped. 

" As for our forces on the northern frontier, both regu-j 
lars and provincials, I expect to hear of no action byj 
them, unless the enemy force them to it. If some more^ 
vigorous measures are not made in England, and season-] 
ably executed, we must inevitably fall a prey to the pre- 
vailing power of France. We live in hopes that a vigor- 
ous push will be made for the reduction of Canada, whichj 
seems to be the only measure that can secure us." 

Abandonment of the claifn for a perpetual revenue.- 
Governor Hardy, at length, divulged the fact, that the 
British government had authorized him to desist from 
urging the demand for a permanent revenue ; and the 
colony thus derived the benefit of the long-tried firmness 
of the legislature, in regard to this vexatious demand. 
The effect of this concession was at once evinced in the 
readiness with which the assembly voted extensive sup- 



HISTORY.— T7oG. 185 

ilies, even by direct taxation, on articles of daily use, 
nd, still more, by the valuable gratuities conferred on 
lie governor himself, though in such a way as to evade 
he injunction against conferring presents on the governor. 

Action of the legislature on the grants to the college. — It 
5 with regret that we read, in the history of this year, 
le course pursued in regard to the funds originally 
ranted for the establishment of the college. The 
barter was at length conferred ; but half the fund was 
iverted to the erection of a jail and an hospital. For 
lis result the trustees, by their exclusive conduct, weie 
bemselves, in part, to blame; and here, again, we per- 
eive the machinations of Mr. Delancey, the great poli- 
cian of the time, who proposed the measure, with a 
iew to retrieve his popularity, which he had jeoparded 
y his former favor shown to the institution and its trus- 
ses. The friends of the college, however, secured the 
enefit, at least, of the immediate use of funds long with- 
eld, and proceeded to erect the college edifice, with the 
loiety permitted to them. 

Oppressive and arbitrary conduct of lord Loudon. — ^The 
ommander-in-chief, desiring to retrieve the disgrace 
ttending the loss of Oswego, made an attempt to collect 
•oops for an attack on Crown Point. Sir William 
ohnson was required to muster the Indians for this pur- 
ose. But the Indians seem never to have relished the 
lea of attacking fortified places ; as they were conscious 
f their want of qualification for such modes of warfare, 
'he main purpose, indeed, which they ever served, on 
ither the French or the English side, seems to have been 
lat of striking terror into the opposite army, by the dread 
f their well-known barbarity towards captives and de- 
snceless people. The employment of such aids, and the 
lising of them to the dignity of allies, are equally dis- 
raceful to nations calling themselves christian. But the 

I human practice of war, brings, in its train, every evil 
lat can afflict or degrade mankind. 

Disappointed at the reluctance of the Indians to enter 

II the proposed expedition, lord Loudon retired to Al- 
any for the winter, and billeted his troops, in excessive 
ambers, for free quarters, on the inhabitants of that city 
id of the metropolis. This unprecedented annoyance 

,;iused loud and universal complaints, in answer to which, 



186 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON LXXXIV. 

lord Loudon, with characteristic haughtiness, threatened 
to billet his whole army on the capital. To avoid such 
an evil, the magistrates headed a subscription for defray- 
ing the charges of billeting; and matters were thus set at 
rest, but not without a fresh lesson received on the evils 
of colonial dependence, which entailed, the liability to such 
oppression. 

Reading Lesson LXXXIV. 

Appropriations for the prosecution of Jiostilities against 
tJie French. — In February, 1757, the governor urged the 
legislature to fresh grants for the prosecution of the war; 
informing them, at the same ti-me, of his expectation of 
reinforcements from Europe and from the sister colonies. 
The assembly voted the means of a levy of a thousand 
men, as the just quota of the colony, and, having been 
compelled to sit at Flatbush, in consequence of the prev- 
alence of small-pox in the city, declined, attending to 
other business. 



SEC. XUr.-SECOND ADMINISTRATION OF LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR 
DELANCEY.— 1757-1760. 

Re'instalhnent of Mr. Delancey as lieutenant-governor. — 
Sir Charles Hardy, having received the appointment of 
rear-admiral, and the command of a squadron in the ex- 
pedition against Louisburg, transferred the administration 
of affairs to Mr. Delancey, and embarked, on the 2d of 
July. 

Fall of fort Williajn. — Lord Loudon had left general 
Webb in command of a force of nearly six thousand men, 
scattered, however, over the frontier in detachments, and 
thus exposed to any concentrated operation of the enemy. 
M. Montcalm, who succeeded baron Dieskau, had col- 
lected a body of several thousand men and three hundred 
batteaux, at St. John's. On the 3d of August, anived an 
express, with intelligence that the enemy were, on the 
30th of July, within twelve miles of fort William, where 
colonel Monroe was stationed with his regiment. Mr. 
Delancey immediately set out for Albany, to expedite the 
militia from below. But several days were unavoidably 
consumed in these preparatory movements; and, in th^ 
meantime, the garrison capitulated. 



HISTORY .-1757. 187 

Lord Howe, who was in command of a considerable 
ody of troops, made an effort to relieve the garrison, and 
iached fort Edward, two days before the surrender. 

ut, as the enemy were eleven thousand strong, and the 
hole force collected at fort Edward did not amount to 
luch more than half that number, nothing could be done 
)r the aid of fort William. 

Governor Fitch of Connecticut, who heard of the exi- 
ency of the case, but a few days before the surrender, 
astened to call out every fourth man of that colony, to 
le rescue. New Jersey, also, immediately detached four 
lousaiid men, as a reinforcement. But all proved too 
ite. 

General Webb had, in the meantime, communicated 
'ith colonel Munroe, apprizing him of the delay of the 
iilitia, and advising him to make the best terms he could. 

Colonel Munroe held out as long as was practicable, 
'his surrender, however, had been unnecessarily delayed, 
1 consequence of the enemy having intercepted general 
Vebb's letter, and kept it back, for several days. The 

rms of surrender were honorable. The garrison were 
ermitted to march out, with the honors of war ; they 
'ere to be protected from the fury of the French Indians, 
y an escort to a given distance. But, fearing, or pre- 

nding, that the savages might prove uncontrollable, 
eneral Montcalm advised the surrender of the baggage 

them. Amid the excitement of the scene of plunder 
I'hich ensued, the blacks attached to the British force, 
/ere inhumanly massacred, and some of the soldiers at- 
xcked and wounded. The French, on this occasion, 
lanifested either a shameful want of courage to check 
lese atrocities, or a base connivance at the perpetration 
f them. 

The victors, having demolished the surrendered fort, 
eturned to Ticonderoga ; and general Webb wisely ab- 
tained from running the risk of any demonstration with 
'oops so raw as the majority of his force, which, although 
; had a basis of regular soldiery, was composed, for the 
lost part, of hasty levies. 

The blame of this disastrous affair was freely laid by 
ome, on the dilatoriness of acting-governor Delancey, — 
y others, on the want of promptitude, manifested by 
;eneral Webb. From this imputation Mr. Delancey en- 



188 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXXXIV. 

deavored to clear himself, in Lis message to the legisla-! 
ture, on his return to the metiopolis ; but admitted the; 
disorderly conduct of the militia, and pledged himself to 
an investigation. 

Definitive settlement of the boundary question between 
Neiv York and Massachusetts. — For many years, a harass- 
ing dispute had existed, regarding the proper boundary 
lines between the colony of New York and those of New 
Jersey, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. The New- 
York agent, residing in London, had used his best en- 
deavors to defend the interests of his employers. But a 
moi-e powerful influence at court, seemed continually to. 
thwart his exertions. To his own disappointment, and 
that of his constituents, the question was now finally set- 
tled, as regarded the colony of Massachusetts, on terms 
less favorable to New York than had been expected, and 
by which several ancient patents, granted by the latter, 
were annulled. The decision was in these words : 

" That a straight line, to be drawn northerly, from a 
point on the south boundary line of the Massachusetts 
bay, twenty miles distant, due east, from Hudson's river, 
on that line which divides the provinces of New Hamp- 
shire and Massachusetts bay, will be a just and equitable 
line of division between the said provinces of New York 
and Massachusetts bay." 

Effects of the surrender of fort William. — The impres- 
sion produced by the suirender of fort William, was deep 
and general. It affected not only the colonies, but dis- 
pirited the British officers. Lord Loudon intimated his 
intention of encamping on Long Island, as a last stand 
for the defence of the continent ; Mr. Pownal, recently 
appointed governor of Massachusetts, ordered the driving 
in of all the cattle on the west side of the Connecticut; 
general Webb sent his baggage down to Albany, and an- 
nounced his intention of taking post at the Highlands. 
The correspondence of the colonial assembly with theiii 
agent in London, intimated their apprehension of " the 
entire loss of English America." 

The general depression caused by so many failures in 
attempts against the French, reacted at length, in favor 
of general Shirley, whose schemes, though unsuccessful, 
were yet highly in favor, both in England and Ameiica. , 



HISTORY.-i:58. 189 

Reading Lesson LXXXV. 

French invasion of the "German Flats." — Lord Loudon, 
on his return, in October, from the unsuccessful attempt 
against Louisburg, ordered his troops to Albany ; and, 
under the influence of the present panic, being unwilling 
to expose much of his force at outposts, left but one 
hundred and fifty men at fort Herkimer. Montcalm 
took advantage of this oversight, to withdraw five hun- 
dred of the Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas 
from their allegiance to England. These he united to 
a party of French troops, who fell upon the settlements 
at " German Flats," on the 15th of November, and per- 
petrated, on the inhabitants, the wonted cruelties of sav 
age warfare. 

General Ahercrovibie' s appointment, as commander-in- 
chief. — The ministry, at home, not less than the people 
of tlie colony, seem now to have become thoroughly con- 
vinced of lord Loudon's incapacity for his station ; and 
the appointment of general Abercrombie, who was then 
stationed at Albany, to the chief command of the British 
forces in North America, with a view to the invasion and 
conquest of Canada, diffused great joy throughout the 
colonies. 

Preparations for the invasion of Canada, in 1758. — 
The lieutenant-governor submitted to the assembly on 
the 10th of March, 1758, the grand project of the British 
minister, for a levy of twenty thousand provincial troops 
for the invasion of Canada. To this announcement the 
assembly eagerly responded, in their wonted spirit, and 
voted a levy of twenty-six hundred men, and a supply of 
a hundred thousand pounds. 

The outline of the plan of campaign for this year, was 
as follows : general Amherst was to reduce cape Breton, 
the island of St. John's, and their dependencies ; general 
Forbes, the French forts on the Ohio ; and general Aber- 
crombie, with the main army, was to penetrate Canada, 
through the northern lakes. 

The place of rendezvous, for the invading army, was 
fort Edward. The New-York troops were all there, by 
the beginning of June ; the stores from England arrived 
about a fortnight after; and such were the zeal and de- 
spatch of all concerned, that before the end of the month, 



190 NEW YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON LXXXVI. 

lord Howe led the first division of four thousand men to 
lake George. General Abercrombie followed with the 
main body ; and the whole army had reached the north 
shore by the 6th of July. 

Repulse of the expedition. — No difficulty was experi- 
enced in repelling the enemy, and occupying the country, 
till the army reached Ticonderoga. But there the expe- 
dition met with a check which so discouraged the com- 
mander, that he withdrew his troops, and made a speedy 
retreat home. Neither he nor his officers seem to have 
been well informed, as to the ground on which their 
movement was to be made. They approached the fort 
in a wrong direction. A fire of musketry was absurdly 
attempted against a perfect fortification, duly furnished 
with cannon, and rendered inaccessible by an abatis of 
felled trees. 

The quick eye of the French general caught the mis- 
take ; and, stripping off' his uniform, he darted among his 
men, and, sword in hand, foi'bid a shot to be fired, under 
pain of death. Then, watching his opportunity, when 
the English became entangled in the abatis, he gave the 
word for a murderous fire, which swept down the whole 
front of his enemy, like grass falling under the scythe. 
Two thousand brave men successively fell victims to the 
fatal error of the British commander ; and such was the 
consternation spread by the havoc of the enemy's artillery, 
that the troops made a precipitate retreat, and never 
stopped till they had reached, once more, the farther side 
of the lake. 

Reading Lesson LXXXVI. 

Capture of fort Frontenac. — A memorable contrast to 
the failure of the invading army, was presented in the 
bold and rapid movement of colonel Bradstreet, in his 
successful attempt on fort Frontenac. — Burning with 
impatience at the shameful repulse from Ticonderoga, 
this officer solicited permission to be detached for an 
assault on the French post at Frontenac. The expedition 
is thus vividly described by judge Smith. 

" Abercrombie gave him a detachment of three thou- 
sand men : he rather flew than marched with them through 
that long route from lake George to Albany, and thence 
again up the stream of the Mohawk river, then across the 



HISTORY.-1759. 



191 



portage, down Wood creek, to the lake of the Oneidas 
and the rapids of the Onondaga, to Oswego. Thence he 
pushed his open boats into the sea of Ontario, traversing 
the southeastern coast from point to point, till he crossed 
the fet Lawrence, and surprised the garrison of Fronte- 
nac. He invested it, took it, burned an immense maga- 
zme for the supply of the interior dependencies, and in 
twenty-four days after having destroyed the vessels on 
the lake, returned to assist in securing the important pass 
in the country of the Oneidas, which Mr. Webb had the 
year before, abandoned, to the intimidation of all the six 
Indian tnbes. But, either by the fatigue of these vigo- 
rous exertions, or the bad quality of the waters of Wo^od 
creek, we lost five hundred men of this detachment —a 
great part of whom were levies of this colony " 

Erection of fort Stanwix.— An additional protection for 
the frontier, was, this year, secured, by the erection of 
fort Stanwix m the country of the Oneidas. The new 
tort was named after the general commandincr in that 
quarter. ° 

Ejects of the reduction of fort Frontenac.—The im- 
pression produced on the Canadians, by the loss of fort 
Irontenac, on one border, and of Louisburg, on the other 
was, to that susceptible people, wholly overwhelming A 
strong body of troops and artificers, had been despatched 
to repair the demolished fort. But, on the bare hearinc^ 
of a false report of a second approach of Bradstreet, the 
whole h rench force made a precipitate retreat homeward 
to Montreal. ' 

The effect of the British successes, was still more ad- 
vantageous, with reference to the Indian nations. The 
contederates and many other tribes, particulaHy those of 
the Delaware, the Susquehannah and the Ohio, immedi- 
ately entered into a treaty of peace and amity. General 
i^orbes was consequently enabled to march, without ob- 
struction, to fort Du quesne,*-afterwards called fort 
ap roTch ^"''^^'o — ^hi^^ ^^^ enemy abandoned at his 

J^^Si^l^fe assembly of 1759._The septennial period, 

the limit of the legislative power of the assembly, having 

expired, a new election was held. In the local politic! 

ot that day, the turning point for the success of candi- 

* * Pronounced, Dukane. 



192 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON LXXXVII. 

dates, was their acquiescence in the strong popular feel- 
ing of hostility to the exclusive character of the charter 
granted to the college. Lieutenant-governor Delancey, 
although, by no means, warmly interested in favor of that 
institution, was, from his early sanction of the chartei', 
considered as the head of the college party ; and the nu- 
merous and influential individuals of the Livingston fam- 
ily, were, from their hostility to the charter, regarded 
as the leaders of the popular party, — or opposition, as 
they might have been termed. 

The popular excitement caused the introduction of a 
considerable number of members opposed to Mr. Delan- 
cey and his measures. But that individual was still too 
powerful to be easily thwarted ; his control over the coun- 
cil being nearly absolute. 

Measures adopted for the campaign of 1159. — Mr. Pitt, 
afterwards lord Chatham, being then prime minister of' 
England, the accustomed vigor and energy of his charac- 
ter continued to be felt, in the spirit with which the war 
was carried on against France. As early as the end of 
February, his requisitions were made on the colonies, for 
large supplies of men and money, with a view to renew 
ed operations against the French possessions. 

The new assembly, like its predecessors, entered, afr 
once, into the minister's views, expressed through the 
governor, and voted the full contingent of New York, in 
aid of lord Amherst, the new commander-in-chief; and, 
on account of the exigences of the government, an addi- 
tional vote was obtained, at the solicitation and on the 
personal credit of lord Amherst, for a loan, to the crown, 
of a hundred and fifty thousand pounds. 

The spirit manifested in these and similar grants, suffi- 
ciently evinces the warm attachment of the colony to 
England, and leaves us to infer how galling must have 
been the sense of injustice which led to the final rupture 
with the pai'ent country. 

Reading Lesson LXXXVII. 

Successful operations of the campaign of 1759. — Our ■} 

New-York historian of that period, gives the following | 

sketch of the military operations against Canada, during ''i 
the year. 



HISTORY.— r/59. 1 93 

■: " General Pritleaux took the commantl of the western 
army destined to Niagara. They advanced on the 1st 
of July, tvventy-tv/o hundred strong, exclusive of several 
hundred Indians, led by Sir William Johnson. They 
landed, invested the French fort, and opened their trench- 
es. The general fell by the unfortunate explosion of a 
cohorn on the ^Oth. The American baronet took his 
place, and sent for Mr. Haldimand, who, with twelve 
hundred men, had just before repelled sixteen hundred 
of the enemy, in the defence of that post, — with a consid- 
erable loss to them and none to us. 

" Before Mr. Haldimand arrived, a strong party of thir- 
teen hundred came from Venango, to the relief of the 
besieged, with five hundred savages. Lieutenant-colonel 
Massey advanced with a detachment of five hundred men, 
to meet them. Observing that our Indians sought an op- 
iportunity to speak with them, and fearing the effect of it, 
the French set up, and began the charge. In less than 
an hour they gave way, with the loss of one hundred and 
fifty prisoners ; the first and second in command ; Mo- 
rang, the Indian leader ; and seventeen officers, seven of 
>vhom were captains. Except the Mohawks, all our own 
Indians stood aloof, till after the rout. This victory of 
the 23d of July, gave us the fort. 

] " Through the unskilfulness of our engineers, the works 
were unhurt ; and, having ammunition for only forty-eight 
hours more, Sir William was on the point of raising the 
^iege. The garrison capitulated, at the instance of the 
commandants. There were made prisoners of war to the 
mmber of six hundred and seven : their women and chil- 
[jren were to be sent to Montreal. 

" General Amherst led the main body. They passed 
ake George without opposition, and proceeded to tlje 
ines so fatal to us, the year before. While our trenches 
vere opening, the enemy kept in their fort ; but in the 
light of the 26th of July, blew it up, and repaired to 
^rown Point, leaving twenty men behind, who could not 
ind room in their boats. 

" Five days after, M. Bourlemaque abandoned fort St. 

^'rederick, and demolished the works; retiring with all 

he stores to the Isle aux Noix,* at the north end of 

ake Champlain, where his whole force collected, amount? 

* Pronounced, Eelbnicd. 

I 



194 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON LXXXVII. 

ed to two thousand men, who were in a starving con- 
dition. 

" Colonel Gage was ordered, on the news of the sur- 
render of Niagara, to proceed from Oswego, with the 
westei'n forces, down the St. Lawrence to La Galette, 
while general Wolfe was hesieging Quebec ; that the 
Fi'ench force drawn to the two extremes of Canada, 
might favor general Amherst's descent upon the centre 
of the colony, with an army of twelve thousand men, 
through lake Champlain. 

"On the flight from Crown Point, few doubted the re- 
duction of Montreal, where they imagined the inhabitants 
shut out fiom the rest of the world, and so harassed as to 
be unable to collect in their harvest ; upon the point of 
perishing by a famine, and, by despair, ready to resign 
themselves the moment of general Amherst's landing at 
St. John's : they relied on the intelligence that the sav' 
ages in the French alliance were intimidated, and con 
ceived that the immense plunder of Niagara would h 
sufficient to draw all our Indians to a firm junction wit 
the troops who were to act under Mr. Gage. But ofj 
these designs not one was executed save that trusted to: 
general Wolfe, and this not till the 13th of September. — | 
General Amherst, who had advanced within thirty mile* 
of St. John's, and burned all the French vessels but one, 
on the news of the Quebec victory, returned to Crown 
Point. 

" The multitude, however, were contented with a change 
of fortune so very different from what they had hitherto 
experienced, and, contented with their successes, a veil 
was willingly drawn over that inactivity which had disap 
pointed our hopes of the total subjugation of the power of, 
France on this continent. 

" The fort of Niagara, though of earth, was respecta. 
ble, and capable of containing two thousand men. Oi 
the sides it was difficult of access. It had a river, on th 
west ; the lake, on the north ; and on the east, a morass 
The ditch was large, and, a great part of it, wet. Th 
soil near it, like the Seneca country, fertile, rich, an< 
level. About two thousand Indians visited it, the ensuin 
autumn, abject and servile, because aware of their de-| 
pendence on us, in future, for many articles necessary for-r 
their subsistence : but- not a single man of the Mississa- ■ 



iFie 



Ol 



HISTORY.- 1759. 195 

ges, who inhabited the old country of the Hurons, on the 
north bank of lake Erie, came there, till the close of the 
campaign ; for the French still maintained their post at 
Toronto, at the northwest corner of lake Ontario ; and 
therefore six hundred men were left, the ensuing year, as 
a garrison at Niagara. 

" At Oswego, we built a new pentagon fort, and opened 
a ditch of five and thirty feet. The magazine was made 
capable of containing a thousand barrels. Casemates and 
bomb-proofs were constructed, and nine companies left 
there, for its defence, with several small vessels, and a 
brigantine, of seventy odd feet keel, mounting twenty 
guns. One hundred men more were posted in a small 
fort, at the Little Falls of the Onondaga, and, as many 
more, at the western extremity of the Oneida lake ; fifteen 
at the eastern end, and four hundred at fort Stanwix. A 
road was cut from that fortress, eighteen miles across the 
portage, to the mouth of Wood creek, to shorten the pas- 
sage by that stream, which is more than double that dis- 
tance. It was then asserted that the plain of the waters 
of the Wood creek and the Mohawk river, at each end 
of that carrying place, differed but two feet, which, if true, 
may one day, give a supply of salmon and many other 
kinds of fish to the inhabitants upon the boi'ders of the 
latter of these streams. 

" On the north, general Amherst began a fort at William 
Henry, completed another at Ticonderoga, formed and 
began to execute the design of such a fortress at Crown 
Point as would comprehend a circuit of nine hundred 
yards. The winter garrisons of these three posts, amount- 
ed to fifteen hundred men." 

Reading Lesson LXXXVIIL 



Renewal of legislative aid, — The supplies voted in 
spring, extended only to November; and the house had 
therefore to be convened for the purpose of obtaining ad- 
ditional ways and means. Delighted with the success of 
the British and colonial arms, the assembly readily grant- 
ed the necessary supplies, and adjourned till December, 
when they met to close the year with patriotic congratu- 
lations on the triumphs of the national arms, in the dif- 
ferent quarters of the globe, and, especially, on the down- 



196 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON LXXXVIU. 

fall of Quebec, and the certainty thus obtained of the final 
acquisition of Canada. 

Events of 1760. — The assembly, when convened in 
the spring of this year, voted, once more, a liberal sup- 
ply, in answer to the minister's demand through the 
governor. 

Among colonial matters of interest, at this time, we 
read, with pleasure, of a grant of twenty-five hundred 
pounds for the relief of the poor of Boston, who had 
suffered from the conflagration of a large part of the 
town. 

An object of attention more strictly local, was the pass- 
ing of an act for the stricter regulation of the practice of 
the medical profession. The terms of this act disclose 
two important facts, not very creditable to the condition 
of this branch of the general interests of the colony. One 
of these, is, the admission that the community was then 
infested, by quacks, to a grievous extent ; and the other, 
that the only protection against their operations, was the 
examining and licensing of regular candidates, by " a 
counsellor, a judge of the supreme court, the mayor and 
the attorney-general, assisted by such persons as they 
should think proper to call upon !" 

Death and character of lieutenant-governor Delancey. — 
On the 30th of July of this year, the lieutenant-governor 
died, very suddenly, by an attack of asthma. This ener- 
getic and resolute man, had, doubtless, during his admin- 
istration, been somewhat overbearing and oppressive. 
But the strength of his character, and the weight of his 
personal influence, had stamped a unity, a vigor, and an 
efficiency, upon the public measm'es of the colony, which, 
till his day, were unknown. His personal traits were by 
no means amiable or attractive. His manner, even to 
equals, was haughty ; to inferiors, it was arrogant and re- 
pulsive ; and his temper, naturally irascible, was certainly 
not meliorated by the habits of free living, which prevail- 
ed in official life, at his day. His character, as drawn by 
the pen of judge Smith, one of his political opponents, 
presents a man deeply stained by the vice of selfishness, 
in his public actions, and addicted to tyranny in his gov- 
ernment. The coloring of this portrait, however, is prob- 
ably not without a tinge of party feeling and animosity ; 
and, even in the hands of an enemy, the picture presents 



HISTO?iY.-lTi:0. 107 

a man of powerful and aspiring genius, who, on the wider 
field of a European court, would probably have achieved 
a distinguished name. During the greater part of his life, 
he was felt and feared and obeyed, as a kind of local sov- 
ereign. 

His intellectual traits are thus described by Mr. Smith. 

"Mr. Delancey's genius exceeded his erudition. His 
knowledge of the law, history, and husbandry excepted, 
the rest of his learning consisted only of that small share 
of classical scholarship which he had acquired at Cam- 
bridge, and, by a good memory, retained. He was too 
indolent for profound researches in the law ; but what 
he had read, he could produce in an instant ; for, with a 
tenacious memory, he had an uncommon vivacity : his 
first thought was always the best ; he seemed to draw no 
advantages from meditation ; and it was to this prompt- 
ness he owed his reputation. He delivered his senti- 
ments with brevity, and yet with perspicuity. He rarely 
delivered his opinions in writing, because his composi- 
tions did not merit even his own approbation. It was a 
labor to him to write ; and he only supplied the matter 
of his speeches to the assembly, which others put into 
form." 

Reading Lesson LXXXIX. 

Surrender of Canada. — The great event, so anxiously 
and so long desired by all the British colonies, at length 
took place. The whole territory of Canada was, this 
year, surrendered to Great Britain ; and New York, in 
particular, was forever freed from the annoyance of inva- 
sion from that quarter. 

" The siege of Quebec by the Canadians, and the dread 
of its returning to its old masters," says our local histo- 
rian. Smith, "quickened our levies ; and, when collected, 
the news of their retiring from that city in May, stimu- 
lated them in their progress. General Amherst left 
IScIienectady in June, to join an army of four thousand 
Bregular troops and about six thousand provincials, who 
|were to make their descent into the heart of the French 
icolony, down the stream of the St. Lawrence ; while 
[general Murray was to come against it with two thousand 
.regulars from Quebec, and five thousand provincials were 
to penetrate, under colonel Haviland, through lake Cham- 



198 NEW- YORK'CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON LXXXIX. 

plain. Sir William Johnson gave assurances, at the same 
time, of the effectual aid of all the warriors of the Six Na- 
tions ; of which, nevertheless, only six or seven hundred 
accompanied the western army from Oswego to La Ga- 
lette, or Oswegatchie, when all except a few individuals 
thought proper to return to their own castles. 

" The three divisions advancing and arriving nearly at 
the same time, in the neighborhood of Montreal, the 
whole force of Canada was driven into the island ; and 
M. Vaudreuil,* the French governor, being surrounded 
and unable to make any resistance, surrendered all Can- 
ada, on the 8th of September. General Amherst returned 
to New York in the latter part of September, and received 
the congratulations of a people exulting in the accom- 
plishment, which we were taught by our ancestors to pray 
for, as an event essential to the felicity and safety of all 
the British colonies in America. 

" Mr. William Livingston penned the address offered 
in these triumphant moments of joy ; and, alluding to the 
reduction of Canada, the house, to preengage the reten- 
tion of it at the peace, speaks of that event as replete 
with innumerable advantages to the nation in general, and 
exults in our deliverance 'from the devastation of a cruel 
and barbarous enemy, rather bent on the destruction of 
mankind, than waging war, either for their own defence, 
or even from motives of ambition or conquest.' Again, 
*no consideration,' (say they,) ' shall induce us to regret 
the blood and treasure expended in facilitating this ines- 
timable acquisition, save only, (to which we are confident 
the wisdom and honor of the nation will ever disdain to 
submit,) the surrender of this most important conquest, 
which, in possession of the crown, must prove to Britain 
the source of immense riches, and, if retained by so per- 
fidious a people, would expose us to the keen revenge of 
a defeated enemy, who, unreclaimed by our example, and 
by our clemency unsoftened, would doubtless relapse into 
their native barbarity, and retaliate our lenity with more 
signal acts of inhumanity and bloodshed.' " 

* Pronounced, Vodrul, — u, sounding nearly as in " up," and I as 
the Hi in " William." 



HISTORY— 1761. 199 

SEC. XIV.— ADMINISTRATIONS OF LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR COL- 
den, and governors monckton and moore.— 1760-1769. 

Reading Lesson XC. 

Accession of acting-governor Golden. — On the death of 
Mr. Delancey, the administration of colonial affairs, de- 
volved on Dr. Golden, the senior member of the council. 
This individual, whose name stands so favorably connected 
with the early progress of science in New York, and who, 
after the active lite of a surveyor, had retired to the en- 
joyment of scientific research and literary leisure, re- 
turned, at the age of seventy, to resume the burden of 
_ public duties. 

j The administration of Dr. Golden, proceeded quietly 
in its course ; as the virulence of party feeling had now 
subsided, and the uncertainty of affairs, till the appoint- 
ment of a new governor, left little occasion for excite- 
ment. 

The intelligence of the death of George II, having 
reached the colonies, the acting-governor issued writs 
for a new election of representatives to the assembly, for 
March, 1761. 

Dr. Golden soon incurred the dislike of the people of 
the colony, by his endeavors to thwart the general wish 
that the judges should hold their offices independently of 
the crown, and, not less, by his attempts to supersede Mr. 
Charles, the colonial agent in London, by one of the 
Povvnal family, whose influence with the lords of trade he 
wished to secure. The reward of the acting-governor's 
subserviency, in these cases, was his appointment, as lieu- 
tenant-governor, by regular commission from the crown. 
But the new chief-justice, Mr. Pratt from Boston, who 
was appointed through favor of Mr. Pownal, and whose 
appointment had taken place through the reluctance of 
Dr. Golden to confer the office on a native of New York, 
found his reception so cold, and the assembly so averse to 
provide his salary, that, after some time, he returned, in 
disappointment, to Boston. 

Governor Monckton. — The British cabinet having deci- 
ded on a secret expedition to the West-India islands, had 
ichosen Staten island as the rendezvous of the forces; and 
here general Monckton held his camp, awaiting the double 
honor of his appointment, as governor of New York, and 



200 NEW-YORK CLASS-ROOK —I. F.SSON XC. 

his orders to set out, in the meantime, in command of the 
expedition. 

On the 19th of October, the general's commission as 
governor, ariived. The commission, however, in this in- 
stance, was not accompanied by the usual book of instruc- 
tions from the colonial office, to direct his official proceed- 
ings ; and Dr. Golden carried his scruples on this point, 
so far as to express doubts as to the legality of the ap- 
pointment. That he should thus incur the dislike of the 
new governor, could not be a matter of surprise. 

The manner in which governor Monckton overcame 
the trivial impediment of the informality in question, was 
somewhat regal in effect. When the lieutenant-governor 
asked for the customary instructions by which the council 
might proceed to business, the governor frankly replied 
that " he had none, and hoped never to have any, that he 
might be the more at liberty to copy the example of his 
royal master." No objection was urged by any member 
of the council, in regard to the omission ; and all the 
usual ceremonies of the procession, and the public proc- 
lamation at the town hall, were duly gone through. 

Governor Monckton, as commander of the West-India 
expedition, embarked on the 15th of November, after 
having, not without much previous difficulty, adjusted, 
with Dr. Golden, the terms of a compact, by which the 
latter was to receive a moiety of the official salary, during 
the governoi''s absence at Martinique. 

Disagreements between the lieutenant-governor and the 
assembUj. — Before the end of November, Dr. Golden was 
involved in disputes with the assembly, which were oc- 
casioned by the same causes as before, and continued, 
with little abatement, till the assembly was prorogued, in 
the early part of January, 1762. 

Grants for 1762 — At the reopening of the legislature, 
in spring, large grants were willingly passed for the sup- 
port of the government measures; although the conquest 
of Canada would seem to have rendered these unneces 
sary for any purpose of defence or protection to tht 
colony. 

Public proclamation of war against Spain. — The fol- 
lowing paragraph gives us a graphic representation of 
" the pomp and circumstance," with which a declaration 
of war was formerly attended, even in a colonial city. 



HISTORY.— 1763. 201 

"The war against Spain was proclaimed here on the 
3d of April. The council met at the fort ; and the militia 
were arrayed. The proclamation was read by Mr. 
Banyer, at the door, and followed by three cheers. 
The grenadiers, led by lord Stirling, then advanced to 
the town hall. The constables followed after them ; the 
under sheriffs, high sheriff, and town clerk, the common 
council, aldermen, recorder, and mayor, then the council, 
the lieutenant-governor, and, last of all, the gentlemen of 
the town. When the proclamation had been again read 
at the hall, they returned to the fort; and, after some time, 
the company retired." 

Return of general Monchton. — Complete success at- 
tended the expedition to Martinique ; and the general re- 
turned to New York, on the 12th of June, to resume the 
peaceful functions of his colonial government. These he 
discharged in a sumptuous style of splendor, more ex- 
pressive of his own sense of personal and official dignity, 
than appropi'iate or judicious, for the administration of 
the duties of a civil station, in a colony little addicted to 
ostentatious display. 

Reading Lesson XCI. 

King's [Columhia) college, in 1763. — Among the inter- 
esting particulars of local history, at this date, are the 
following. A donation of twelve hundred volumes, for 
the library of the college, was, this year, received from 
Dr. Bristow of England, as mentioned more fully in an 
account of the college, in a subsequent part of this volume. 

At the annual commencement. May 23d, the following 
distinguished names occur in the list of graduates of the 
college, Depeyster, Cuyler, Verplanck, Livingston, Watts, 
Bayard, Wilkins, Hoffman, and Marston. It is pleasing 
;to trace such evidences of the actual usefulness of that 
institution to the best interests of society, notwithstanding 
the discordant feelings and strong prejudices excited by 
the course adopted at the establishment of the college. 

The " alma mater'' of such an intellectual progeny as 
the above, may well claim the honor due to a mental 
nursing-mother of the community. Did every year pro- 
duce such clusters of ripening mind, the growth of the 
state would be ample, indeed ; and the college might just- 



202 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON XCI. 

]y feel that she had nobly contributed her annual part to- 
ward the general progress of humanity. 

Attenifts of the British jtarliameMt to levy taxes in Amer- 
ica. — In March, 1764, was presented the act imposing 
duties on articles imported by the colonists from the Brit- 
ish possessions in the West Indies. This arbitrary mode 
of levying a revenue, without the consent of the subject, 
caused, of course, great dissatisfaction in all the colonies, 
and, especially, in New York, which, from its peculiarly 
advantageous maritime position, had its prosperity identi- 
fied with an unimpeded commerce. 

Still, as it was easily in the power of the colonists to 
dispense with West-India luxuries, and, as while parlia- 
ment might .lay duties on goods imported, it could not 
compel the importation of them ; the measure excited 
nothing more than the murmurs natural in such circum- 
stances. But when, in the following year, parliament 
proceeded to pass the stamp act, in virtue of which no im- 
portant instrument in writing could be held valid, if not 
executed on stamped paper, purchased, at high rates, of 
government agents, the colonies seemed roused, to a man, 
against this arrogant encroachment on the rights of the 
people. The colonists, as freemen, had hitherto enjoyed, 
undisputed, the common immunities of Englishmen and 
subjects of the British crown. Among all their political 
privileges, none had been more uniformly asserted and 
maintained, than their right of self-taxation, through rep- 
resentatives. But, by the stamp act, the British govern- 
ment seemed to have devised an engine which was to be 
worked, not at the will of the people, but of parliament, — 
a body in which the colonies enjoyed no representation, 
and which already was assuming the power of acting on 
their property, without even consulting them. A revenue 
was thus to be wrung from the colonists at the pleas- 
ure of an irresponsible, a distant, and an uninformed 
power. 

It was easy to dispense with the luxuries of East or 
West India produce, and so to avoid duties and imposts. 
But the stamp act rendered it necessary to pay an onei'ous 
tax to the British government, on every occasion requir- 
ing a legal receipt, in the common transactions of busi- 
ness. To submit to this condition, was to pay a compulso- 
ry permanent revenue to the crown, — a vassalage against 



II 



HISTORY.— 1765. 203 

wliicli New York, as a colony, had, all along, strenuously 
and successfully struggled. 

The nature of the question allowed of no intermediate 
course of action : it was a plain case of submission or re- 
sistance ; and the obvious injustice of the demand, kin- 
dled, at once, throughout the colonies, the spirit of oppo- 
sition, on the part of the people. The stamp act was re- 
ceived, in the city of New York, with marked expressions 
of popular feeling, and was reprinted and sold about the 
streets, under the title of " The folly of England and the 
ruin of America." 

Meeting of colojiial deputies in Neto York, in 1765. — A 
congress of deputies from nine of the colonies, met in 
New York, in the month of October, with a view to con- 
sultation on the crisis which the injustice of parliament 
had brought upon America. Dr. Golden, then acting gov- 
ernor, being a conscientious upholder of the supremacy 
of Great Britain, refused to countenance the proceedings 
of the congressional assembly. But, among the repre- 
sentatives of the colony of New York, on that occasion, 
we find the names of Robert R. Livingston and Samuel 
W. Johnson, who were employed to draw up an address 
to the king, expressive of the sentiments of the congress, 
and of the people of the colonies. 

Reading Lesson XCII. 

Popular demonstration against tlie stamp act. — The 
first of November, — the day assigned as the date from 
which the stamp act was to take effect, — is a memorable 
one, in our colonial annals. The stamped paper design- 
ed for use in New York, had arrived in a ship from Lon- 
don, and been deposited, for safety, in the fort, which had 
been repaired and duly armed, for the purpose of over- 
awing the people; as plain intimations of the spirit of re- 
sistance had been given in threatening handbills, street 
processions, and even a public meeting of the merchants, 
at which a unanimous resolution was passed, not to im- 
port goods from England. 

Two parties of the populace paraded the streets with 
effiories of the governor, one of which was hanged, in de- ^ 
lision, at the Park, and the other burned at the Bowling 
Green ; the governor's carriage, and portions of the fence 



204 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XCU. 

of the fort, forming part of the pile. A mob, the same 
day, sacked the house of major James, who had incurred 
this act of resentment, by his violent language and men- 
aces to the people, in case of resistance to the stamp act. 

Difiposal of the stamped pajpcr. — Governor Golden, in- 
timidated by the signs of public indignation, published, 
on the following day, a bulletin, in which he disavowed 
any intention of using the stamps, and left the matter to 
the disposal of the new governor. Sir Henry Moore, now 
daily expected. The people intimated that if the stamps 
were not removed from the fort, they would take them 
away by force. It was then proposed that the stamps 
should be placed on board one of the national ships lying 
in the harbor. But, as the captain was unwilling to re- 
ceive them, they were, at last, given up to the city corpo- 
ration, and deposited in the city hall, in Wall street. 

Arrival of governor Moore. — In December of this year. 
Sir Henry Moore, who had long been expected, as gov- 
ernor, at length arrived. Fortunately he was a man of 
prudence and self-control ; and, although entrusted with 
special powers, in anticipation of acts of popular violence, 
he pi-ovoked no collisions with the people. But the tran- 
quillity of the colony was fortunately restored by the re- 
peal of the stamp act, — a result to which the eloquence 
of Ghatham contributed not a little. The news reached 
New York in May ; and, on the 4th of June following, 
which was the birthday of George III, who had lately 
succeeded to the throne of England, great rejoicings were 
held in the fields, — now the Park, and a liberty-pole erect- 
ed, in honor of the triumph of freedom. 

Statue of lord Chatham. — The statue of lord Ghat- 
ham, which was erected in 1770, and for some time, oc- 
cupied a conspicuous place in Wall street, was an ex- 
pression of gratitude, from the people of New York, for 
his eminent services to America, on this occasion, in par- 
ticular. But when, in the progress of the revolutionary 
struggle, the views of that statesman came to be explicit- 
ly avowed, in favor of the supremacy of parliament, the 
public mind was entirely cooled towards him, — so much 
so, that the dilapidation of his statue, which the loyalty 
of some of the British soldiery, — when occupying New 
York, during the revolutionary war, — had prompted them 
to begin, was afterwards completed by the American 



HisTonY.-nro. 205 

troops, on their return to the city, when the British had 
finally withdrawn. 

Statue of George III. — Another expression of the pub- 
lic feeling of gratitude for the repeal of the stamp act, was 
that of erecting an equestrian statue of his majesty, George 
III, in the centre of the Bowling Green, in front of" fort 
George," as the garrison was now called. This statue, 
like that of Chatham, was voted soon after the repeal, al- 
though not erected till 1770; and, in 1776, it shared the 
same fate of demolition with that of the great statesman. 
Being made of lead, however, it served the purpose of 
being run into balls, for the use of American soldiers. 

Susjyension of legislative power in Neto York. — The re- 
luctance which the legislature of New York manifested, 
to provide for the maintenance of a large military force, 
and the limited supply which was voted for the purpose, 
drew down the displeasure of the ministry and parlia- 
ment ; and an act was passed in the early part of 1767, 
suspending the legislative functions of the colony. This 
act was, in the circumstances of the case, equal, nearly, 
to the proclamation of martial law, and excited the utmost 
jindignation among the people. 

Character and death of Sir Henry Moore. — During all 
the convulsions of his period of administration. Sir Henry 
Moore had managed, with great prudence and forbear- 
ance, to prevent any overt act of opposition to the gov- 
ernment. He continued steadily to pursue the same ju- 
dicious course, till the close of his official term and his 
life. He died, much regretted by the friends of peace 
and order, and by every well-wisher to the prosperity of 
the colony, on the 11th of September, 1769. 



SEC. XV.— ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNORS DUNMORE AND 
TRYON.— 1770-1774. 

Reading Lesson XCIII. 

Accession of governor Dunmore. — The individual on 
whom the duties of governor next devolved, was of very 
different character from his predecessor; and, under his 
administration, the assembly learned, for the first time, 
the startling fact, that the governor was to be, thencefor- 
ward, independent of their vote of supply ; a salary having 
been assigned him from the royal treasury. The design 



206 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK,— LESSON XCIIL 

of this airangeraent obviously was, to render the governor 
more subservient to the crown, and more indifferent to the 
interests of the colony. 

Accession of gorernor Tryon. — Lord Dunmore's con- 
tinuance in office, was, however, of brief duration ; and if 
we may judge from the rancorous hostility, and even gross 
inhumanity, displayed in his subsequent cruelties, on the 
coast of Virginia, the circumstance was fortunate for the 
colony of New York. On the 8th of July, 1771, governor 
Tryon arrived from North Carolina, accompanied by his 
wife and daughter, whose character had endeared them, 
universally, to the people of that colony. 

The new governor was received with the customary 
ceremonies and festivities of such occasions; and lord 
Dunmore repaired to Virginia, to assume the office of 
governor in that quarter, where his name continued long 
to be execrated, for his subsequent predatory attacks on 
the settlements along the coast, and for his inhuman at- 
tempts to stir up the blacks to the massacre of the white 
inhabitants. 

Disputes hetwcen Nciv York and Neiv IlampsJiire. — 
Governor Wentvvorth of New Hampshire had, notwith- 
standing the royal decision to the contrary, in favor of 
New York, granted patents for the occupancy of lands 
lying within the limits of the latter colony; and the right- 
ful holders under New York, had been harassed and 
chased off by intrudei's from New Hampshire. But 
there was, on the other hand, a similar injustice com- 
plained of by peaceable inhabitants occupying lands 
which they had purchased in good faith, of governor 
Wentworth, under the impression that his right to sell 
was valid. All the endeavors of governor Tryon to put 
an end to these disputes, proved unavailing ; and for 
years, in succession, the border scene was one of dissen- 
sion and violence, on both sides ; each of the parties 
practising, in turn, summary ejectment of the others, or 
offering violent resistance to such attempts. 

Founding of Neiv- York hospital. — Among the benefi- 
cent works of peace, which it fell to governor Tryon's 
lot to promote, was the founding of the city hospital of 
New York. The foundation stone was laid by the gov- 
ernor's own hand, on the 2d of September, 1773. But 
an accidental fire destroyed a part of the building, and 



HISTORY.— 1773. 207 

retai'ded, for a time, the progress of the work. A por- 
tion of the original building is incorporated in the present 
edifice. The location, still airy and agreeable, was, ori- 
ginally, much more so, being then quite rural ; so limited, 
as yet, was the extent of the city. 

The spacious and pleasant edifice, which, in the heart 
of our crowded city, now meets the eye, with the air of a 
suburban reti'eat for retired opulence, — in its ample 
space, its noble shades, and well-kept grounds, — and 
which soothes the humane heart, by the benevolent asso- 
ciations connected with its uses, — is one of the pleasing 
memorials of past times, in connection with the parent 
country. The event of laying its original foundation 
stone, is a redeeming trait which tends to relieve the 
hostile aspect of oppression and resistance, with which 
the times were ali'eady beginning to darken. A colonial 
governor was thus found, for once, in the attitude of hu- 
mane and kindly relations to the people of the country, 
instead of that of an incessant exactor of " men and money 
for the wars" of Great Britain, or of funds for his per- 
sonal use and emolument. 

The New- York hospital is doubly venerable, from its 
purposes, and from the fact that it was one of the earliest 
erections for such uses, in our country. Long may it 
continue to open its hospitable apartments, and offer, as 
now, its healing ministries to the destitute sick and the 
sufferers from the casualties of active and exposed modes 
3f life ! Long may it continue to receive the blessing of 
:he stranger and friendless foreigner, who find health and 
2omfort, or relief and solace, within its walls! 

Reading Lesson XCIV. 

Moveme7it in New York, regarding the Tea-duty. — The 
British cabinet had resolved on the imposition of a duty 
3n tea imported into America, as a silent means of ex- 
racting a revenue, and " binding the colonies." The co- 
onial merchants were prohibited from importing tea di- 
rect from China ; as the ministry wished to secure the 
Drofits of such trade to the East-India company, with a 
new to swell their annual receipts to the stipulated 
imount on which they were bound to pay into the treas- 
iry a yearly sum of four hundred thousand pounds sterling. 



208 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON XCIV. 

That the payment of the duty on tea might be secured 
in England, it was levied there, which coVisequently rais- 
ed the price of tea to the Americans, in the ratio of the im- 
post. This measure was clearly seen through by the col- 
onists, as a concerted scheme for extorting a revenue by 
sending them an article already taxed. American cap- 
tains, accordingly, were unwilling to incur the displeas- 
ure of their countrymen, by importing the tea in their 
vessels ; and the British government, to ensure the ac- 
complishment of their purpose, allowed the East-India 
company to transmit it in their own ships, as the only 
means of exporting it to America. 

The colonists were justly indignant at this manoeuvre, 
by which an attempt was made to wring a tax out of them, 
against their will; and resolute measures were everywhere 
adopted to defeat the intentions of the ministry. The peo- 
ple of Boston expressed their resentment at the attempt to 
introduce the taxed tea, by throwing it into the harbor. 
Those of Philadelphia resisted in a form not so violent, 
but decided and effectual. 

On the 17th of December, 1773, a public meeting, sum- 
moned by " the association of the sons of liberty," was 
held at the city hall, to deliberate on letters received from 
Boston and Philadelphia, calling on the colonies to unite 
in resisting the unjust designs of the British ministry. A 
unanimous resolution was passed, at this meeting, to re- 
gard whatever persons should aid in introducing the tax- 
ed tea as enemies to the country. But before the meet- 
ing was dismissed, the mayor came with a message from 
the governor, pledging the word of the latter, that, on the 
arrival of the tea, it sliould be taken into the fort, in open 
day, and there remain subject to the order of the council 
or other authority. But, as the duty must be levied if the 
article were landed, this proposal was decidedly refused ; 
and the meeting adjourned " till the arrival of the tea- 
ship." 

Disaster, hy fire, to the governor's house. — The family of 
governor Tryon had a narrow escape from destruction, on 
the night of the 29th of December. The parents, with 
difficulty, found their way through an unfrequented pas- 
sage ; and their daughter saved herself by leaping from a 
window of the second story ; while an unfortunate serv- 
ant girl perished in the flames. The house and furniture 



HISTORY.— 1774. 209 

were completely destroyed ; notwithstanding the strenu- 
Dus exertions of the citizens. The adjoining buildings, 
within the walls of the fort, were saved principally by the 
ircumstance of their being then covered with snow. 

Governor Trijon's annual coinmunicatlon with the legis- 
lature. — On the 12th of January, 1774, the governor, in his 
opening speech to the assembly, after alluding to the re- 
cent calamity, and to the liberal grant previously made 
or the repairs of the province-house, informed them that 
he boundary line between New York and Massachusetts 
:iad been settled by the commissioners appointed to that 
3uty, but that with Canada it still remained undetermin- 
?d. He proceeded to inform them, farther, that he had 
been called home, in consequence of the border outiages 
iommitted by some of the people of New Hampshire ; an 
nvestigation into which had been instituted by the royal 
b^overnment. 

The legislature replied, in terms of condolence and re- 
b'et, both as to his personal losses and the necessity of his 
[•eturn. A grant of five thousand pounds was, at the same 
lime, made, in consideration of his loss by the burning of 
he province-house. 

Reading Lesson XCV. 

Departure of governor Tryon. — On the 8th of April, 
governor Tryon departed for England ; leaving the admin- 
stration, once more, in the hands of doctor Golden, now 
'ar advanced in years, and little able to put forth the en- 
ergy demanded for the effectual discharge of official du- 
iies, at a season of tui'bulence and commotion. The cir- 
cumstance, however, was not unfavorable to the peace of 
:he community, and the progress of the cause of liberty. 

t\. younger and more enei'getic man might, by attempting 
esistance, have involved the colony in peril and blood- 
shed ; while the lieutenant-governor's years, and his pred- 
lection for seclusion and study, inclined him, rather, to 
teep aloof from the scene of action, and submit to the cur- 
ent of events, and of popular feeling, which was fast be- 
coming too strong for him or any other individual to con- 
rol. 

The departure of governor Tryon called forth many 
3emonstrations of respect, to which his personal character 



210 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XCV. 

and that of his family gave just occasion ; and the official 
dignitaries, and that portion of the community which was 
attached to British rule, were loud in their expressions of 
attachment. The counter current of popular feeling, how- 
ever, was, meanwhile, gathering fresh force ; and the with- 
drawal of the governor was, no doubt, regarded by the 
majority of the people as slight cause of regret. 

Reception of the taxed tea, in New York. — On the 21st, 
of April arrived the long-expected tea-ship, the Nancy,i 
captain Lockyier. The pilots, who had received direc- 
tions from the committee of the " sons of liberty," would! 
bring the vessel no farther up than Sandyhook. The cap- 
tain came up to the city, and was immediately met by 
deputation, who informed him that he must return, forth- 
with, with his ship, to London, as he would not be sufTer-'j 
ed to land his cargo. He was permitted to call on hisj 
consignee ; but that individual knew too well the state of I 
popular feeling, to encounter the risk of attempting to actj 
in the business. The ship was detained and narrowlj 
watched at the Hook, till the captain was ready to departJ 
and return, with his tale of discomfiture, to his employers; 

A more summary process was adopted with a quan-i 
tity of the tea, secretly brought over by an Americanl 
captain. A deputation having thoroughly sifted the casej 
and detected the attempt, notwithstanding the pretences] 
of the captain, ordered the hatches to be opened, and thel 
tea to be hoisted out, and emptied into the bay, whichj 
was immediately done. 

Captain Lockyier of the English ship being now readyi 
to set sail, was waited on, at the coffee-house, by a com-l 
mittee, and received the full honors of a mock farewelLj 
He was led to the balcony, where he was cheered by the 
assembled multitude in the street; a band of music^ 
meanwhile, playing, either in earnest or in jest, theJ 
national air of "God save the king!" He was, at last, 
escorted, with due ceremony, to the pilot-boat awaiting 
him at the wharf, and with wishes for " a good voyage 
home," was permitted to depart. One committee, how- 
ever, still watched his ship till her anchor was weighed ; 
and another gave safe conduct, on board the same vessel, 
to the recreant American captain whose tea had been 
destroyed. 

Public meeting qf sympathy, in response to the people of 



HISTORY.— 1774. 211 

}oston. — The British parliament, resenting the conduct 
f the inliabitants of Boston, in regard to the destruction 
f the taxed tea, hud declared their port shut to all pur- 
ioses of commerce. This tyrannical procedui'e excited 
iie most vehement indignation throughout the American 
olonies, while it created the warmest sympathy for the 
jufTerers by a measure so destructive to the interests of a 
(maritime city, and so evidently designed to reduce a large 
tlass of the population to a state of utter destitution. 
j In May and July of this year, public meetings were 
leld to express the feelings of the people of New York, 
^ relation to this proceeding, on the part of the British 
government. Resolutions were passed, on the latter of 
'hese occasions, approving the action of the people of 
Boston, and expressing the deepest interest in their con- 
dition, as well as the utmost readiness to make common 
:ause with them, in resistance to the aggressive measures 
)f parliament. 

At the last-mentioned of these meetings, the coming 
evolution was plainly shadowed, in a preparatory reso- 
ution for the election of delegates to the colonial con- 
p-ess, to be held at Philadelphia, for the purpose of 
;onsidering such measures as the state of the country 
leemed to demand. 

Reading Lesson XCVI. 

Election of delegates to the colonial congress, at Phila- 
delphia. — On the 25th of July, 1774, occurred the first 
deliberate public movement in New York, towards that 
toncerted action to which the American colonies were 

ow compelled by the measures of the British govern- 

ent. The polls were, on this day, opened, for the elec- 

ion of delegates to the proposed congress at Philadel- 

hia ; and the individuals chosen were Philip Livingston, 

ohn Alsop, Isaac Low, James Duane, and John Jay. 
The general feeling of the people, in relation to the 

urposes of the intended congress, the universal confi- 
dence of the community in the newly elected deputies, 
and the personal respect with which they were regarded, 
were strikingly displayed, by the animated crowd which 
accompanied them to their place of embarkation, with 
the warmest demonstrations of sympathy and approbation. 



212 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XCVI. ! 

The esteem in which these delegates were held, at the 
assembled congress, is shown in the fact, so creditable to 
the state, that, of the committee of three, appointed to 
draught the declaration of rights, two, — John Jay and 
Philip Livingston, — were members of the New- York dep- 
utation. Their associate was the distinguished Richard 
Henry Lee, of Virginia. The declaration of rights, the 
worthy predecessor of the declaration of independence, 
was penned by Mr. Jay. Its language breathes, through- 
out, the spirit of freedom, blended with firm though re- 
spectful remonstrance. Speaking the sentiment of the 
congress, as representing the spirit of the American col- 
onies, universally, it manfully asserts, " We consider our- 
selves, and do insist that we are, and ought to be, as free 
as our fellow-subjects in Great Britain ; and that no power 
on earth has a right to take our property from us without 
our consent." 

The New -York legislative assemhlij of 1775. — While 
we trace, with pleasure, the page to which we have just re- 
ferred, in our country's history, as indissolubly associated 
with our own local characters and local feelings, it would 
be unjust to claim, for the body of our New-Yoi'k legisla- 
ture of that day, the purely patriotic spirit which actuated 
the men whose names we have mentioned, and those who 
were united with them in political sentiment. We read, 
not without regret, that, when colonel Woodhull* moved 
" that the thanks of the house be given to the representa- 
tives of the province, for their services in the continental 
congress, the previous September," the vote was unfavor- 
able ; — fifteen to nine being against the motion. 

This result is sufficiently explained, in part, by the fact; 
that there were still many men, of weight of character and 
property, zealously attached to colonial dependence on 
the British crown, and disposed to a quiet, if not silent, 
submission to what they deemed temporary and partial 
evils, as preferable to any attempt approaching to the 
character of a revolution. To these men of principle and 
prudence were added, for the time, those who could not, 
perhaps, be justly ranked otherwise than as the cautious 
or the timid, who regarded with alarm the idea of the 
hazards to property and life, which must inevitably attend 
political commotions. 

* See his Ufe, on a subsequent page. 



IIISTORY.-1775. 213 

After much warm debate, addresses to the king and to 
the houses of lords and commons, were passed, on the 
25th of March, 1775, stating the grievances generally 
complained of, and asserting the rights vindicated in the 
declaration by the Philadelphia cong7-ess, but in terms 
measured and reserved. 

Soon afterwards, this last colonial assembly adjourned, 
never to meet again. The next page of our local history, 
presents the brighter aspect of the new legislature which 
existed under the designation of " the provincial cout 
gress," — a body consisting of men disposed to do and 
suffer for right and freedom, and, in the person of Nathan- 
iel Woodhull, headed by one worthy to lead in such a 
cause. The new body which represented the interests 
of the constituency of New York, discharged the offices 
of local legislation, during the first stages of the revolu- 
tionary era, for the space of nearly two years; — from the 
latter part of May, 1775, till the organization of the 
" state" government, in April, 1777. 



CHAP, v.— PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 

SEC. I.— EVENTS OF 1775. 

Reading Lesson XCVIL 

Action of tlie "provincial congress,''^ — The legislative 
assembly having adjourned indefinitely, in the month of 
April, the New- York local committee of vigilance, which 
had been, from time to time, acting as emergencies seem- 
ed to require, recommended the formation of a provincial 
congress, by deputations from the several counties of the 
colony. The body thus constituted, assembled, accord- 
ingly, in the city, on the 22d of May, 1775, and by its 
procedure, asserted its right to entire sovereignty, sus- 
pending, in effect, from the time of its organization, and 
ultimately superseding and annulling, the royal authority. 

Organization of the colonial militia. — One of the acts 
of sovereignty assumed by the provincial congress, and 
plainly indicative of their anticipation of an approaching 



214 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XCVIII. I 

Struggle, was their order of the 22d of August, for the 
reorganization of the mihtia of the colony. Of this force, 
Nathaniel Woodhull, then a member of the New-York 
delegation to the Philadelphia congress, was appointed- a 
colonel, and, subsequently, a general of brigade. 

Appointment of a 2>residcnt oj" the provincial congress. — 
On the 28th of August, general Woodhull was chosen 
president of the provincial congress of New York, and con- 
tinued in office, after the following aimual election, in 1776. 

Nominal existence of the royal government. — A shadow 
of the royal administration still existed, during the pro- 
tracted absence of governor Tryon, in the person of the 
aged lieutenant-governor Golden, who alternately uttered, 
from his rural retirement on Long Island, feeble com- 
plaints of the tumultuous condition of the city of New 
York, and gracious assurances of the benignant intentions 
of his royal master, in case of peaceful submission and 
loyal demeanor, together with occasional threats of royal 
vengeance in store for the refractory. But the time for 
blandishments and intimidation, alike, had passed. The 
words of the venerable representative of by-gone days of 
loyalty, fell unheeded on the ears of a new generation, 
inspired by the sentiment of liberty, incited by an indig- 
nant sense of wrong, and impelled by manhood's stern 
resolves to assert, at all hazards, their violated rights, and 
vindicate their claim to the character of freemen. 

The members of the royal council, also, yet remained 
in the city, though overawed and paralyzed by the pres- 
ence of the popular party. The mayor and the common 
council were, likewise, in the royal interest. But their 
acti(jn was, of course, circumscribed by the same influ- 
ence which embarrassed the council; and, although the 
tory party were now exulting in the prospect of the speedy 
return of governor Tryon, and a consequent change in 
the aspect of the times; the new power, deposited in the 
colonial congress, and in local committees of vigilance, 
embodying the will and sentiment of the people, con- 
trolled the current of events, and guided the helm of the 
state. 

Reading Lesson XCVIII. 

Preparations for armed resistance to the British power. — 
The news of the memorable affair of Lexington and Con- 



HISTORY.-1775. 215 

cord, Massachusetts, in which the yeomanry of that colony 
had risen upon the royal force, and so effectually repelled 
its act of aggression, kindled the popular spirit of New- 
York to a flame. The local committee called on the 
inhabitants to arm and organize themselves, for military 
discipline. An address of warning was, at the same time, 
presented to the lieutenant-governor, apprizing him of 
the general determination to resist, to the utmost, the 
measures adopted by the British parliament. 

The continental congress, in session at Philadelphia, 
actuated by the spirit of forbearance, and the hope of 
ultimate reconciliation, advised the inhabitants of New 
York to offer no violence to the British troops, which were 
now expected, unless they should attempt to construct 
new fortifications. It was recommended, however, that 
all warlike stores should be promptly removed from the 
city, and places of safety found for the protection of 
women and children. 

Return of governor Tryon, and arrival of general Wash- 
ington. — On the loth of June, the general congress had 
unanimously appointed George Washington commander- 
in-chief of the American forces ; and he proceeded, f()rth- 
with, to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the revolution- 
ary army was then concentrated for the siege of Boston ; 
the colonists having succeeded in hemming in the royal 
troops within the narrow limits of the peninsula which 
forms the site of that city. 

General Washington, on his way to Cambridge, was ex- 
pected to pass through New York, on the 25lh of June ; 
and, by a singular coincidence, govei'nor Tryon was ex- 
pected to arrive and land on the same day, to resume his 
functions as governor of the colony, and repi'esentative 
of British authority. 

The confusion created in the city, by this double anti- 
cipation, we can easily imagine. Govei'nor Tryon was to 
land on the eastern side, escorted, as a matter of cere- 
mony, by a body of the royal troops : Washington, on the 
western, attended by generals Lee and Schuyler, with a 
deputation of four members of the provincial congress. 

Perplexing predicament of the congress. — The provincial 
congress, though decidedly in favor of the American cause, 
had not yet, by any overt act or declaration, cast off alle- 
giance to the crown of England, in their capacity as colo- 



216 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XCVIIL 

nists. The general impression prevailing in the provinces, 
was, in fact, that the rupture between the colonies and the 
parent country would be but temporary; and that a front 
of determined resistance was but the surest way to secure 
lasting peace and tranquillity, with the enjoyment of the 
appropriate immunities of British subjects. We need not 
wonder, therefore, that the congress should have felt 
puzzled how to act, in circumstances so equivocal as the 
friendly reception of the two representatives of the con- 
tending parties in the great sti'uggle. The exclusive rec- 
ognition, or the abandonment of either, must have been a 
dereliction of honor or of prudence. 

Fortunately for the congress, general Washington ar- 
rived a few hours before governor Tryon ; and the direc- 
tion to the commanding officer of the militia, to hold 
himself in readiness to escort whichever party should 
arrive first, was obeyed without difficulty. 

General Washington' s reception at New York. — The ur- 
gency of affairs did not permit general Washington to 
spend more than a single night in New York. But his 
reception was cordial, on the part of the well-wishers to 
American liberty. The provincial congress, in their ad- 
dress to him, however, manifested a degree of caution in 
their expi-essions, and still speak of the regret with which 
"the most loyal of his majesty's subjects were compelled to 
resort to arms." At the same time, the utmost confidence 
is expressed, in regard to the choice of a commander-in- 
chief, made by the national congress, and the earnest hope 
that the struggle may end in the security and enlarge- 
ment of colonial freedom. 

We cannot refrain from quoting, here, the noble and 
beautiful language of the conclusion of Washington's 
answer, as speaking the genuine sentiment of the whole 
American people, at that time, in regard to the sincere 
desire for peace, and for the continuance of friendlj' rela- 
tions with England, as well as the extreme reluctance 
with which the colonists were driven to resistance, as a 
last resort. 

" Be assured that every exertion of my worthy col- 
leagues and myself will be equally extended to the rees- 
tablishment of peace and harmony between the mother 
country and the colonies, as to the fatal but necessary op- 
erations of war. When we assumed the soldier, we did 



HISTORY.-1775. 219 

not lay aside the citizen ; and we shall most sincerely re- 
joice with you in that happy hour when the establishment 
of American liberty, upon the most firm and solid founda- 
tions, shall enable us to return to our private stations, in 
the bosom of a free, j^eaceful, and happy country." 

Reading Lesson XCIX. 

Military operations commenced in the colony of New 
York. — The cloud of war was now threatening to ap- 
proach the region of New York, which, from its central 
and commanding situation, seemed likely to be a promi- 
nent object of attack. The American army, under Wash- 
ington, succeeded in expelling the British troops from the 
town of Boston ; and, although this result had been achiev- 
ed without violence, yet the previous carnage of Bunker- 
hill had fully attested the determination, on both sides, 
with which the struggle was, in all subsequent encounters, 
elsewhere, to be maintained. 

The provincial congress, accordingly, foreseeing the 
course of events, applied to the state of Connecticut for 
aid, which was promptly accorded ; and in July, general 
Wooster, with a body of men from that province took up 
a position in Harlem, with a view to action in whatever 
form the exigences of the time might require. 

Taking of Ticoncleroga and Croivn Point. — The first 
actual operation, however, which opened the revolutiona- 
ry campaign, within the territory of New York, dates from 
the month of May, in this year. It exhibits, also, the 
readiness with which the neighboring colony of Connecti- 
cut discharged its part, in aid of the sister colony of New 
York, and of the general interests of America, in the com- 
mon cause of resistance to Great Britain. 

No sooner had the intelligence of the blood shed at Lex- 
ington, Massachusetts, been diffused over the country, than 
the deadly character of the coming strife between the col- 
onies and the parent country, was distinctly foreseen. The 
importance of seasonable anticipation and instant action, 
to forestall the movements of British power, became, at 
once, apparent. The friends of liberty in Connecticut, 
had, with the quickness of apprehension characteristic of 
the people of that colony, caught at the idea of antici- 
pating the arrival of British reinforcements, and seizing 



220 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON XCIX. 

the imperfectly garrisoned fortresses of Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point. These, if once adequately garrisoned, 
would become formidable sources of injury to the adja- 
cent regions ; and, on the other hand, if secured, would be 
an effectual check on invasion from the Canadian frontier. 

A body of but forty volunteers, with the activity and 
despatch habitual to their native state, started for Ben- .; 
nington, in " the New-Hampshire Grants," to meet, by 
agreement, the hardy adventurer, colonel Ethan Allen and 
his corps, — spirits of the right sort for such an enterprise. 
Allen joined the Connecticut band, at Castleton, with two 
hundred and thirty men, all eager for the expedition. 

At Castleton, they were unexpectedly joined by colonel 
Arnold, at this time an ardent partisan in the patriot cause, 
who had formed a similar design of surprising the British 
forts. Ai'nold was admitted as second in command of the 
combined force, which arrived on the shore of lake Cham- 
plain, opposite to Ticonderoga, on the night of the ninth 
of May. At day-break, on the following morning, the 
leaders, with an advance of eighty -three men, entered the 
outworks of the fort. The garrison, uttei-ly unaware of 
the attack, were yet asleep. The musket of the solitary 
sentinel missed fire, when he attempted to give the alarm ; 
and the Americans rushed in along with him into the in- 
ner part of the fort. There they formed a hollow square, 
and, now sure of their object, gave the huzza of victory. 
The garrison, aroused by the unwelcome sound, rushed 
out, and for a few moments offered what resistance they 
could, in a close struggle with sword and bayonet. But 
their scanty numbers and unprepared condition soon com- 
pelled them to surrender. 

A detachment was immediately despatched, under col- 
onel Seth Warner, to seize Crown Point, which being pro- 
vided, at the time, with no greater force than a Serjeant's 
command, was easily taken. 

The daring Arnold, burning for distinction, completed 
his share in the successful enterprise, by the capture of a 
British sloop-of-war, lying off St. John's, at the northern 
end of lake Champlain. Had this unhappy individual 
continued in the path on which he set out with so high 
promise of a brilliant career, his name, instead of coming 
down to after times loaded with infamy, might have shone 
among the highest on the records of patriotic valor. 



HISTORY.— 1773. 221 

The great quantity of artillery and ammunition secured 
by the seizure of the forts, was a prize of immense value, 
at such a crisis ; and the acquisition was a source of great 
joy to the friends of liberty in New York. 

Reading Lesson C. 

TJie Asia ma7i-of-icar. — The British ship of this name, 
had been ordered from Boston to the harbor of New 
York, where she lay anchored off the Battery, with a 
view to overawe the city, and repress the turbulent spirit 
of the " sons of liberty." Several popular outbreaks, — of 
minor consequence, however, — had seemed to the British 
authorities to require such a measure. 

But the presence of this guardian of order, had the ef- 
fect of irritating rather than overawing the populace ; as 
was evinced, on one occasion, by the destruction of the 
ship's barge and of one built to replace it. More serious 
evils, ere long, arose, in connection with the spirit of 
mutual hostility existing between the ship and the shore. 

The provincial congress had ordered the cannon to be 

1 removed from the Battery, as a measure of precaution 
! and security. This order was executed, on the night of 
the 23d of August, by captain Lamb and his company, 
aided by a lai"ge number of the inhabitants, who divided 
themselves into two parties ; one remaining under arms, 
while 1;he other prosecuted the work of removing the 
guns. 

Governor Tryon's emissaries had communicated in- 
-formation of this proceeding to the commander of the 
royal ship, who despatched an armed barge to watch the 
movement of the people on shore. A musket was dis- 
charged from the barge, whether for the purpose of in- 
timidating the party on shore, or as a signal to the officer 
on boai'd of the Asia. It was taken as the commencement 
of an attack, and answered by a volley of musketry, which 
killed one of the crew. The barge immediately returned 
to the ship ; and a cannonade was commenced, by which 
the houses on the Battery were injured, but no other se- 
rious damage done. 

The alarm, however, rallied the male inhabitants, and 
caused the women and children to be removed in large 
numbers, from the city. A threatening communication 



222 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON C. 

was received, on the following day, from the British com- 
mander; but the message closed with assurances that the 
cannonade was designed only to prevent the removal of 
the guns of the Battery, and that no farther violence should 
be offered unless rendered necessary by disorderly and 
turbulent conduct, on the part of the citizens. 

The provincial congress interfered to quiet the people, 
by breaking up all direct communication between the in- 
habitants and the crew of the British vessel, and pledging 
them such I'edress as, on due inquiry, might be obtained. 
But cautious and guarded measures were all that circum- 
stances would, at this juncture, permit the congi'ess to 
employ. The city was effectually commanded by the 
guns of the Asia j and the militia of the colony was fully 
occupied in the north, with the apprehended movements 
of the Indian tribes, who were disposed, on the slightest 
suggestion, to break out into open violence. Their at- 
tachment to Sir John Johnson, the son of the distinguish- 
ed Sir William, and an active leader in the tory interest, 
would, it was well known, induce them to go all lengths 
in injury to the friends of liberty. 

Withdrawal of governo)- Tryon. — On the 13th of Octo- 
ber, a letter was received by the mayor, in which governor 
Tryon stated that the continental congress had suggested 
to the colonial congress the seizure of his person ; and 
that it had become necessary for him to place himself 
under the protection of the mayor and the corporation 
of the city. He stated, farther, that, if he should be de- 
prived of his liberty, captain Vandeput, of the Asia, would 
rescue him, if necessary, by force ; but that, to avoid such 
consequences, he would, if the citizens wished it, embark, 
and remove his property, which he requested permission 
to do, undisturbed. 

The surmise regarding the disposition to treat him as a 
prisoner, was undoubtedly ill-founded. But the proposal 
of the governor jilainly shows how inveterate the opposi- 
tion to British authority had now become, and how in- 
evitable the final rupture between the colonies and the 
parent state. 

The answer returned to the governor's communication 
was, of course, expressed in terms of loyalty and attach- 
ment from the city government, which was of the tory 
party. But the extreme reluctance, on the part of the 



I 



! 



HISTORY.— 1773. 223 



colony, to break with the rule of English authority, is 
strikingly evinced in the fact, that the " city committee" 
joined in the request that the governor would relinquish 
his purpose of withdrawal. They even implored him to re- 
main for the purpose of mediating and I'estoring harmony. 
But the governor either had not sufficient confidence in 
the sincerity of these expressions, or had committed him- 
self too far, in the design of abandoning the colony ; for 
he soon withdrew privately, and embarked in the Halifax 
packet. From this vessel he passed to the royal ship, 
Duchess of Gordon, where he wrote a farewell commu- 
nication, to the mayor, professing his readiness to aid the 
inhabitants in any way practicable, but regretting their 
defalcation from loyalty, and deploring the consequences 
which must ensue. Soon after, he issued an order, form- 
ally dissolving the general assembly, " with the advice of 
his majesty's council," — some of whom had, like himself, 
adopted the resource of retreating from the scene of con- 
fusion and peril, and seeking safety on board the British 
ships of war. — So wound up the formal drama of royalty, 
I which had so long been played in the colony of New 
York. For the subsequent period, during which the 
British troops held possession of the city, was necessarily 
one rather of military occupancy and martial law, than 
of regular government in any form ; and though governor 
Tryon landed again, and returned with the British troops, 
when they arrived from Boston, yet his rule over the col- 
ony of New York was actually at an end. The subse- 
(juent authority of England, was not felt beyond the limits 
of the city, and there only in virtue of the presence of the 
British forces. On the withdrawal of these, at the " evac- 
uation," the last vestige of regal power disappeared; 
the city was left to the undisturbed occupancy of those 
who had successfully asserted their claims to liberty and 
independence, and whose manly resolution and endurance 
had shown them worthy of the boon conferred on them 
by Him to whose righteous sway they had appealed, at 
the outset of the great struggle between power and right. 

Reading Lesson CI. 

Movement for the invasion of Canada. — The continental 
congress had formed considerable expectations of the good 



224 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CL 

will, and even cooperation, of the people of Canada, ^,^ ..nc 
resistance offered to the British crown. It was thought 
that a speedy descent on the fortified places of that prov- 
ince, would ensure their capture, previous to the ai'rival 
of the formidable force which, it was understood, would, 
ere long, be despatched, to strengthen the garrisons of 
Canada, and invade the exposed points of the revolting 
colonies. 

The design of the present work forbids our dwelling 
on events not immediately connected with the localities 
of the colony of New York. But, as the scene of all op- 
erations designed for the reduction of Canada, was laid 
on our borders, it becomes necessary here, to enter, some- 
what in detail, on the movements of the continental army 
ordered on the expedition to Canada. Another link of 
our local connection with the Canadian campaign, is the 
circumstance that it was maintained principally by troops 
levied in New York, and that it was conducted, in one 
direction, by the favoi-ite adopted son of New York, gen- 
eral Richard Montgomery. The whole expedition, more- 
over, was under the chief command of general Philip 
Schuyler, — one of the noblest and truest friends of Amer- 
ican freedom, and, in talent, character, and influence, one 
of the most distinguished men of his native state. This 
genuine patriot, soon after he had taken his place in the 
continental congress of Philadelphia, in the month of May, 
as delegate from New York, was appointed the third 
major-general of the Amei'ican army; and, on the 25th of 
June, was charged by general Washington with the com- 
mand of the province of New York. A few days aftei-- 
wards, congress directed him to repair to Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point, to secure the command of lake Cham- 
plain, and, if practicable and expedient, to take possession 
of St. John's, Montreal, and Quebec. 

General Montgomery, the second in command, had ever 
been an ardent lover of freedom. Originally an officer in 
the British service, he had established himself in the colo- 
ny of New York, and, on the rupture with England, had 
resumed his early profession of arms, and tendered his 
services to his adopted country. He was appointed, by 
the continental congress, a general of brigade ; and, in 
this capacity, his command was attached to that of major- 
general Schuyler, for whom he entertained the profound- 



HISTORY.— 1775. 225 

est respect, mingled with the warmest feelings of friend- 
ship. It was with peculiar pleasure, therefore, that he en- 
tered on the duties of his recent appointment. 

General Schuyler's illness. — Unfortunately for himself 
and his country, general Schuyler had become so reduced 
in health, as to be unable to proceed farther than the Isle 
aux Noix. Here he was compelled to lie, for some time, 
in a state of utter prostration, and was, at last, under the 
necessity of relinquishing the lead of the expedition to 
general Montgomery, and returning to Ticonderoga. 

Though unable to conduct the expedition in person, he 
continued to struggle with the impediments of broken 
health and reduced strength, and exerted himself, beyond 
his ability, in superintending the furnishing of the invading 
force with supplies of food, clothing, arms, and money. 
Conscious of his inability to continue the discharge of du- 
ties so arduous, he applied to congress for leave to re- 
sign. But so deep was the conviction of that body of the 
value of his services, that a unanimous and warm vote of 
thanks was passed, in acknowledgment of his indefatiga- 
ble exertions ; and the most earnest entreaties were add- 
3d, that he would endeavor to continue at a post of such 
aioment to the success of the colonial cause. 

Appealed to by such motives, general Schuyler deter- 
nined to persevere, at every hazard, in his endeavors to 
sustain the struggling and sinking army in Canada. The 
jxertions which he continued to make for this puipose, 
hi-oughout the winter season, were incredible, in extent 
md difficulty. But he shrunk from no sacrifice of com- 
brt, health, or property, to fulfill the duties of the post 
vhich he had determined to maintain. 

Reading Lesson CII. 

General Schtiyler''s negotiations with the Indian tribes. — 
t was mentioned, on a former page, that the state of the 
ndians within the colony, demanded the utmost vigilance, 
n consequence of the tory predilections of Sir John John- 
on, who inhei'ited, with his father's title of nobility, no 
mall share of his powerful influence over the Indian na- 
ions in his vicinity. 

The Indians of the Six Nations, though gratefully at- 
ached to the successive members of the Schuyler family, 



226 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CIL 

had, for many years, been accustomed to receive the gov- 
ernment gratuities of blankets, guns, knives, ammunition, 
and their national bane of rum, through the Johnson fam- 
ily. The favor of the native race had, accordingly, been 
transferred to those whose hand conferred the annual gifts 
of their " great father over the sea." The influence of 
general Schuyler, however, had still proved strong enough 
to obtain, of the Indians, a pledge that they would, at least, 
remain neutral, in the strife between the colonies and 
Great Britain. This pledge, it now seemed, was likely 
to be forfeited through the ascendency of Sir John John- 
son, who, being a devoted loyalist, was vigorously engaged 
in arming and enlisting his immigrant tenantry, from the 
Scottish highlands, and the Mohawks of his neighborhood, 
in the royal cause. 

General Schuyle7-^s advance into the country of the Mo- 
hatvks. — The consequences of an invasion from such a 
quarter, must have been frightful. The horrid scenes of 
massacre, perpetrated, as we have seen, in previous parts 
of our history, by these same Mohawks, on the French 
settlements in Canada, would have been revived in the 
colony of New York, and, probably, extended over the 
whole of the American frontier. To the energy of gen- 
eral Schuyler was his native region, and, indeed, the en- 
tire country, indebted for an escape from such a catas- 
trophe. Seven hundred of the militia were hastily sum- 
moned to prevent the apprehended rising ; and, ere the 
general had proceeded far on his march, his force had 
been swelled, by the accession of volunteers, to the num- 
ber of three thousand. 

Intervieiv with the Indian deputation. — At Schenectady, 
the general was met by a delegation from the Mohawks, 
speaking in the name of their own and the other asso- 
ciated tribes. Their orator on the occasion, admitted the 
engagement entered into, during the previous year, by 
his countrymen. He suggested to the general the dis- 
mission of his army, and the sending of messengers to 
ascertain the truth of the reports which had been circu- 
lated. He warned the colonial commander against rash 
pj'oceedings, particularly with reference to Sir John, whom 
they were bound to protect, but of whom, he said, they 
had obtained a promise that he would not be the aggres- 
sor. He denied that Sir John was meditating any injury 



HISTORY. -1775. 227 

to the colony. He hinted at the difficulty of restraining 
some of his countrymen, who, he admitted, were disposed 
for hostilities, and intimated that the Indians would be 
present at the meeting between the opposite parties of 
the whites ; but that those among them who were friendly 
in their disposition, might not be able to prevent the worst 
consequences, should any injury be offered to Sir John 
or his people. 

General Schuyler plainly perceiving the influence of Sir 
John himself, in this harangue, firmly maintained his knowl- 
edge of hostile purposes and proceedings at Johnstown, — 
repeated the assurance that the colonial force was levied, 
not against th 'Indians, but the instigators of violence and 
injury; that his intention was merely to exact a sufficient 
pledge of Sir John and his dependents that their neigh- 
bor colonists should remain unmolested ; that he only re- 
quired of the Indians to abstain from interfering in the 
"family quaiTol" of the white men. He informed them, 
farther, that he was perfectly willing that they should be 
present at the coming interview with Sir John, whose 
personal safety had been guaranteed ; but that if force had 
to be used, in consequence of the refusal of the offers of 
pacification, and the Indians should take part with his op- 
ponents, the consequences must be upon their own heads. 
► Meeting heticcen general Schuyler and Sir John John- 
son. — A letter had, in the meantime, been despatched, 
arranging an interview between the general and Sir John, 
at which, on the following day, the latter was required to 
relinquish all military stores, and to remain, on parole, in 
Tryon county ; the Highlanders to surrender their arms, 
and give hostages for the peaceable demeanor of the 
Scottish settlements ; and all English presents for the 
Indians, to be delivered to a commissary appointed to 
receive them. 

To these teiTus Sir John was, at first, unwilling to 
submit; and he intimated the readiness of the Indians to 
defend and support him. In reply, he was plainly told 
that force would be met by force ; but, at his request, 
and, subsequently, at that of the Indians, more time was 
I allowed him for consideration. After much parrying 
and delay, the terms proposed were, at last, acceded to ; 
and, on the following day, the Highlanders were disarmed, 
and the military stores surrendered. General Schuyler 



228 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CIH. 

and his force then returned ; having fully secured the 
object of their expedition. 

Reading Lesson CIII. 

Progress of the expedition against Canada. — General 
Montgomery, in the meantime, prosecuted with vigor the 
expedition of which he was now, in consequence of the 
illness of general Schuyler, left sole commander. Tlie 
following account of this unsuccessful attempt to secure 
possession (5f Canada, we derive, principally, from the 
narrative of Dr. Williams, which, for clea^ess and sim- 
plicity, as well as accuracy, seems preferable to any 
other, in a work designed for young readers. 

Defeat of general Carleton. — " Montgomery's first step, 
in the execution of his purposes, was to gain over the 
Indians whom the British general, Carleton, had employ- 
ed ; and this, he, in a great measure, accomplished ; 
after which, on receiving the full number of troops ap- 
pointed for his expedition, he determined to lay siege to 
St. John's. In this he was facilitated by the reduction 
of Chambly, a small fort in the neighborhood, where he 
found a large supply of powder. An attempt was made 
by general Cai'leton to relieve the place ; for which pur- 
pose he had, with great pains, collected about a thousand 
Canadians, while colonel M'Lean jiroposed to raise a 
regiment of Highlanders, who had emigrated from Scot- 
land to America. 

"But while general Carleton wns on his march, with 
these new levies, he was attacked by a provincial force 
of four hundred men, from Vermont, under colonel 
Warner, and utterly defeated ; which being made known 
to another body of Canadians, who had joined colonel 
M'Lean, they abandoned him without striking a blow; 
and he was obliged to retreat to Quebec. 

" The defeat of general Carleton was a sufficient rec- 
ompense to the Americans for that of colonel Ethan 
Allen, which happened some time before. The success 
which attended this gentleman against Crown Point and 
Ticonderoga, had emboldened him to make a similar at- 
tempt on Montreal ; but being attacked by the militia of 
the place, supported by a detachment of regulars, he was 
entirely defeated, and taken prisoner. 



HISTORY.— 1775. 229 

' Surrender of tlie garrison at Si. Jo/m's. — " As the defeat 
of general Carleton, and the desertion of M'Lean's forces, 
left no room for the garrison of St. John's to hope for 
relief, they now consented to surrender themselves pris- 
oners of war, but were, in other respects, treated with 
great humanity. They were, in number, five hundred 
regulars and two hundred Canadians, among whom were 
many of the French nobility, who had been very active 
in promoting the cause of iiritain among their country- 
men. 

Capture of tJie British s7iipj)ing at Montreal. — " Gen- 
eral INIontgomery next took measures to prevent the 
British vessels from passing down the river from Mon- 
treal to Quebec. This he accomplished so effectually, 
ithat the whole were taken. The town itself was obliged 
to surrender at discretion ; and it was with the utmost 
difficulty that general Carleton escaped, in an open boat, 
;by the favor of a dark night. 

" No farther obstacle now remained in the way of the 
lA.mericans to the capital, except what arose from the na- 
ture of the country ; and these indeed were very consid- 
erable. Nothing, however, could damp the ardor of the 
Americans. 

Approach of colonel Arnold. — " Notwithstanding it was 
now the middle of November, and the depth of winter 
was at hand, colonel Arnold, who had been despatched 
by Washington, with an additional force, formed a design 
of penetrating through woods, morasses, and the most 
frightful solitudes, from New England to Canada, by a 
nearer way than that which general Montgomery had 
;chosen ; and this he accomplished, in spite of every diffi- 
culty, to the astonishment of all who saw or heard of the 
iattempt. 

"A third part of his men, under another colonel, had 
jbeen obliged to leave him by the way, for want of pro- 
visions. The total want of artillery rendered his pres- 
ence insignificant, before a place so sti'ongly fortified ; 
and the smallness of his army rendered it even doubtful 
whether he could have taken the town by surprise. 

" The Canadians, indeed, were amazed at the exploit, 
and their inclination to revolt was somewhat augment- 
ed; but none of them, as yet, took up arms in behalf of 
America. 



230 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CIV. 

" The consternation into wliicli the town of Quebec 
was thrown, proved detrimental, rather than otherwise, to 
the expedition ; as it doubled the vigilance and activity 
of the inhabitants to prevent any surprise ; and the ap- 
pearance of common danger united all parties, who, be- 
fore the arrival of Arnold, were contending most violently 
with one another. 

" He was therefore obliged to content himself with 
blocking up the avenues to the town, in order to distress 
the garrison for want of provisions; and even this he was 
unable to do effectually, by reason of the small number 
of his men. 

Arrival of general Montgomery. — " The matter was 
not much mended by the ari'ival of general Montgomery. 
The force he had with him, even when united to that of 
Arnold, was too insignificant to attempt the reduction of 
a place so strongly fortified, especially with the assistance 
of only a few mortars and field-pieceg." 

Reading Lesson CIV. 

Attach on Quehec. — " After the siege had continued 
through the month of December, general Montgomery, 
conscious that he could accomplish his end in no other 
way than by sui'prise, resolved to make an attempt, on 
the last day of the year 1775. The method he took at 
this time, was, perhaps, the best that human wisdom 
could devise. He advanced by break of day, in the 
midst of a heavy fall of snow, which covered his men 
from the sight of the enemy. 

" Two real attacks were made by himself and colonel 
Arnold, at the same time that two feigned attacks were 
made on two other places, thus to distract the garrison, 
and make them divide their forces. One of the real 
attacks was made by the people of New York, and the 
other by those of New England, under colonel Arnold. 

" Their hopes of surprising the place, however, were 
defeated, by the signal for the attack being, by some mis- 
take, given too soon. General Montgomery himself had 
the most dangerous place, being obliged to pass between 
the river and some high rocks, on which the upper town 
stands ; so that he was forced to make what haste he could 
to close with the enemy. 



HISTORY.— 1775. 231 

" His fate, however, was now decided. Having forced 
the first barrier, an unexpected discharge of grape-shot 
from the second, killed him, and the principal officers of 
his staff; on which, those who remained immediately re- 
treated. 

" Colonel Arnold, in the meantime, made a desperate 
attack on the lower town, and carried one of the barriers, 
after an obstinate resistance for an hour ; but in the action 
he himself received a wound, which obliged him to with- 
draw. The attack, howevei", was continued by the offi- 
cers whom he had left, and another barrier forced ; but 
the garrison now perceiving that nothing was to be feared 
except from that quarter, collected their whole force 
against it, and, after a desperate engagement of three 
hours, overpowered the provincials, and obliged them to 
surrender. 

" In this action, it must be confessed, that the valor of 
the provincial troops could not be exceeded. They had 
fought under as great disadvantages as those which had 
attended the British at Bunkerhill, and had behaved equal- 
ly well. 

" The death of general Montgomery, says major Meigs, 
in his journal of the expedition, though honorable, was 
lamented, not only as the death of an amiable, worthy 
man, but of an experienced, brave officer : the whole coun- 
try suffered greatly by such a loss at this time. The na- 
tive goodness and rectitude of his heart, might easily be 
seen in his actions : his sentiments, which appeared on 
every occasion, were fi'aught with that unaffected good- 
ness, which plainly discovered the virtues of the heart 
from whence they flowed. In person, he was tall and 
slender, well limbed, of a genteel, easy, graceful, manly 
address, and possessed the love, esteem, and confidence 
of the whole army. He was shot through both thighs, 
and through his head. His body was taken up the next 
day ; an elegant doffin was prepared ; and he was decently 
interred, on the Thursday after. 

Withdrawal of the trooj)s, hy Arnold. — " Such a terrible 
disaster left no hope remaining of the accomplishment of 
the purpose of the expedition ; as colonel Arnold could 
now scarce number eight hundred effective men under 
his command. He did not, however, abandon the prov- 
1 ince, or even remove to a greater distance than three 



232 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CV. 

miles from Quebec ; and here he still found means to an- 
noy the garrison very considerably, by intercepting their 
provisions. 

" The Canadians, notwithstanding the bad success of 
the American arms, still continued friendly ; and thus he 
was enabled to sustain the hardships of a winter encamp- 
ment in that most severe climate. The congi-ess, far from 
passing any censure on him for his misfortune, created him 
a brigadier-general." 

SEC. IL — EVENTS OF 1776. 

Reading Lesson CV. 

Arnold continues to harass Quebec. — " Reinforcements 
had been promised to colonel Arnold, who still continued 
the blockade of Quebec; but they did not arrive in time 
to second his operations. 

" Being sensible, however, that he must either desist 
from the enterprise, or finish it successfully, he recom- 
menced in form ; attempting to burn the shipping, and 
even to storm the town itself. The Americans were un- 
successful, however, by reason of the smallness of their 
number ; though they succeeded so far as to burn a 
number of houses in the suburbs ; and the garrison were 
obliged to pull down the remainder, in order to prevent 
the fire from spreading. 

" As these attacks kept the garrison in continual alarm, 
and in a very disagreeable situation, some of the nobility 
collected themselves into a body, under the command of 
one M. Beaujeu,* in order to relieve their capital ; but 
they were met on their march by the Americans, and so 
entirely defeated, that they were never afterwards able to 
attempt anything. 

Discouraging condition of the colonial troops. — " The 
Americans, however, derived but little advantage from 
this success. The want of artillery at last convinced 
them, that it was impracticable, in their situation, to re- 
duce a place so strongly fortified. The small-pox, at the 
same time, made its appearance in their camp, and car- 
ried off great numbers — intimidating the rest to such a 
degree, that they deserted in crowds. 

Arrival of the British force, and repulse of the Ameri- 
* Pronounced, Bozkii. 



HISTORY.-1776. 233 

cans. — " To add to the misfortunes of the provincials, the 
British reinforcements unexpectedly appeared ; and the 
ships made their way through the ice with such celerity, 
that one part of their army was separated from the other ; 
and general Carlcton sallying out, as soon as the rein- 
forcement was landed, obliged them to flee with the ut- 
most jirecipitation, leaving behind them all their cannon 
a'.id military stores ; at the same time that their shipping 
was entirely captured by vessels sent up the river, for that 
piu'pose. On this occasion, the provincials made so rapid 
a retreat, that they could not be oveitaken ; so that none fell 
into the hands of the British, except the sick and wounded. 
Humane conduct of the British commander. — "General 
Carleton now gave a signal and pleasing instance of his 
humanity. Being well apprized that many of the provin- 
cials had not been able to accomj^any the, rest in their re- 
;reat, and that they were concealed in woods, in a very 
Jeplorable situation, he generously issued a proclamation, 
ordering proper persons to seek them out, and give them 
"elief at the public expense. At the same time, lest, 
hrough fear of being made prisoners, they should refuse 
hese offers of humanity, he promised, that as soon as 
heir situation enabled them, they should be at liberty to 
lepart to their respective homes. 

Carleton's advance to Trois Rivieres.* — " The British 
(eneral, now freed from any danger of an attack, was 
icon enabled to act offensively against the Americans, by 
he arrival of the forces destined for that purpose from 
3ntain. By these he was put at the head of twelve thou- 
and regular troops, among whom were those of Bruns- 
vick. 

" With this force, he instantly set out for Trois Rivieres, 
yhere he expected that Arnold would make a stand ; but 
e had retired to Sorel, one hundred and fifty miles dis- 
tant from Quebec, where he was, at last, met by the re- 
[iforcements ordered by congress. 

ji Defeat of general Tliomjpson. — "• Here, though the pre- 
ieding events were by no means calculated to inspire 
luch military ardor, a very daring enterpiise was under- 
iken ; and this was, to surprise the British troops posted 
ere under generals Fraser and Nesbit ; of whom the 
muer commanded those on land, and the latter such as 
* Pronounced, Trwaxe Reevyare. 



n 

ai 
Ir 
re 



234 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-I.ESSON CV. 

were on board of transports, and were but a little way 
distant. 

" The enterprise was undoubtedly very hazardous, both 
on account of the strength of the parties against whom they 
were to act, and as the main body of the British forces was 
advanced within fifty miles of the place ; besides that, a 
number of armed vessels and transports, with troops, lay 
between them and Trois Rivieres. 

" Two thousand chosen men, however, under general 
Thompson, engaged in this enterprise. Their success, 
was by no means answerable to their spirit and valor. 
Though they passed the shipping without being ob- 
served, general Fraser had notice of their landing ; and; 
thus being prepared to receive them, they were soon 
thrown into disorder, at the same time that general 
Nesbit, having landed his forces, prepared to attack them 
in the rear. 

" On this occasion, some field-pieces did pi'odigioua 
execution ; and a retreat was found to be unavoidable, 
General Nesbit, however, had got between them and 
their boats ; so that they were obliged to take a circuit 
through a deep swamp, while they were hotly pursue 
by both parties, at the same time, who marched for some 
miles on each side of the swamp, till, at last, the unfortunate 
Americans were sheltered from further danger, by a wood 
at the end of the swamp. The general, however, was 
taken, with two hundred of his men. 

Retreat of the America?i army. — " By this disaster, the 
Americans lost all hopes of accomplishing anything i 
Canada. They demolished their works, and carried off 
their artillery, with the utmost expedition. They were 
pursued, however, by general Burgoyne, against whom 
it was expected they would have collected all their forces: 
and made a resolute stand. But they were now too much 
dispirited by misfortune, to make any further exertion 
of valor. 

" On the ISth of June, the British general arrived at foratJTioii; 
St. John's, which he found abandoned and burnt. Cham' 
bly had shared the same fate, as well as all the vessels tha^K 
were not capable of being dragged up against the currentlt 
of the river. It was thought they would have made some 
resistance at Isle aux Noix, the entrance to lake Cham- 
plain ; but this, also, they had abandoned, and retreated 



avoK 
in til 



HJSTORY.— 177C. 235 

across the lake to Crown Point, whither they could not 
be immediately followed. 

" Thus was the province of Canada entirely evacuated 
by the Americans ; whose loss, in their retreat from Que- 
bec, was not calculated at less than one thousand men, of 
whom four hundred fell at once into the hands of the enemy, 
at a place called the Cedars, about fifty miles above Mon- 
treal. General Sullivan, however, who conducted this 
retreat, after the affair of general Thompson, had great 
merit in what he did, and received the thanks of congress, 
accordingly." 

Reading Lesson CVI. 

Proceedings of the provincial congress, 1776. — The con- 
tinental congress had recommended, as a measure indis- 
pensable to the general safety of the country, at the ex- 
isting crisis, that every colony should erect a new forirj of 
government, adapted to the circumstances of the time, and 
[to the particular condition of the colonies, individually. 
To this j'ecommendation the provincial congress of New 
fork had not deemed itself competent to respond ; as its 
■jwn eai'lier proceedings had been conducted under the 
mpression that a rupture with England might still be 
voided. The members, generally, felt themselves bound, 
n their official capacity, to abstain from any action of a 
evolutionary character; as they had, at the outset, ex- 
iaressed themselves averse to such a procedure. The 
Tieasures of the British ministry had now, however, cut 
)ff all hopes of reconciliation ; and the provincial con- 
gress, on the 31st of May, recommended to the electors 
)f the several counties to vest the requisite authority in 
heir present delegates, or in others to be chosen in their 
jtead. 

On the 30th of June, the British force having appeared 
)fF the harbor of New York, the provincial congress, pre- 
vious to its adjournment on that day, directed that the 
peal congress entrusted with these new powers, should 
ssemble immediately, at White Plains. The new con- 
ress, or " convention," assembled on the 9th of July, and 
hose general Woodhull as president. 

Adoption of the declaration of independence, hy the con- 
ention. — On this body devolved the duty of adopting, on 



23G NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CVL 

behalf of their representatives, the ever-memorable decla- 
ration of independence, issued by the continental congi-ess, 
on the 4th of July, 1776. The New-York delegation, 
from conscientious scruples, similar to those which actu- 
ated the members of the provincial congress, had not, 
though personally in favor of the revolutionary move- 
ment, felt themselves at liberty to commit their constit- 
uents to such a measure, while the instructions which 
they had received, to promote conciliation, were as yet 
binding. 

The first measure passed by the new provincial con- 
gress, was the unanimous adoption of the national decla- 
ration ; and, on the 10th of July, that body formally as- 
sumed the title of the " convention of the representatives 
of the state of New York." These proceedings diffused 
universal satisfaction among the majority of the people; 
and this date closes the record of our own local history as 
a colony, and commences that of New York as a sovereign 
and independent state. Under the auspices of that free- 
dom which the declaration of independence pi'ociaimed, 
New York has, in common with her sister states of the . 
national Union, continued to advance in a career of pros- 
perity and happiness, hitherto unexampled in the histoiy 
of the world. The sui'e hand of time has set its irrevoca- 
ble seal to the wisdom of the men by whom the great 
movement for independence was begun, and, in face of 
the most formidable opposition, so vigorously and tri- 
umphantly sustained. 

Transfer of the scene of hostilities to New York. — Gen- 
eral Howe, when he was forced to evacuate Boston, had 
repaired, with his troops, to Halifax, where, for a time, 
he awaited the arrival of his bi'other, admiral lord Howe, 
under whose command an extensive armament was ex- 
pected to arrive from England. After a delay of several 
weeks, the general departed for New York, leaving a let- 
ter of information to be delivered to liis brother, on his 
arrival. 

General Washington had foreseen that the principal 
aim of the British would be naturally directed against 
New York, and early in April, had arrived there, with 
the army which had effected the expulsion of Howe from 
Boston. 

General Lee, however, had, in the meantime, arrived, 



M. 



HISTORY— 177G. 237 

before the main body with a levy of militia fi-om Connec- 
ticut. The British general, Clinton, had shown himself, 
with an armament, off New York. But, either distrust- 
ing his ability to carry the place, which had been, in part, 
strengthened by additional fortifications of a temporary 
nature, or deeming it preferable to expedite his intended 
movements at the south, he withdrew for the time, and 
joining Sir Peter Parker and his squadron, at Cape-Fear 
river, proceeded to Charleston. Thither he was rapidly 
followed, overland, by Lee, who had received the com- 
mand of the American forces in the southern states. 

Arrival of general Howe. — On the 25th of June, gen- 
eral Howe arrived at Sandyhook, and, on the 2d of July, 
landed his force on Staten island. He was here joined, 
during the following month, by the forces under his broth- 
er, and by those under lord Cornwallis and general Clin- 
ton, which had been repulsed, with considej'able loss, 
from Charleston, by the determined bravery of the colo- 
nial troops. 

The assembled British force numbered upwards of 
twenty-four thousand men ; and to these a reinforcement 
of more than ten thousand was expected. The plan of 
operations was to seize New York, as a key to the Hud- 
son river, to open and maintain communications with gen- 
eral Carleton's army in Canada, and, if practicable, to 
meet it, on the banks of the Hudson, and thus cut off the 
possibility of any aid being rendered to the middle states, 
by New England. The whole American army would 
thus, it was thought, be enclosed, and left at the mercy 
of the English. 

To this ample force, general Washington could oppose 
but about twenty thousand undisciplined militia, poorly 
armed, and many suffering from sickness. 

Coimmmications between the BritisJi and A?)ierican com- 
manders. — Lord Howe had received full power to nego- 
iate with the Americans, on the footing of pardon for the 
past, on condition of their willingness to return to loyalty 
and subjection. Offers of this nature were made by the 
British admiral, and were firmly declined by Washington, 
is unsuitable for those who were not conscious of any 
3rime in their resistance to aggression. 



238 new-yokk class-book.— lesson cvil 

Reading Lesson CVII. 

Erroticous impressions regarding the approach of the 
British army. — No pains had been spai'ed, to strengthen 
the island of New Yoi'k, by the erection of such defences 
as time and circumstances would permit. The general 
expectation of the Americans, was, that the British would 
attempt a landing, in full force, on Manhattan island. 
All due precaution had been used, however, to occupy 
with a strong force, the opposite heights of Brooklyn, 
which, by their elevation, commanded the whole city of 
New York ; and a large body of the American force 
was securely planted in front of the fortified camp at 
Brooklyn, as well as at all points which commanded the 
approaches to it. Still, it seems not to have been expect- 
ed that the main attack would have been made in that 
direction ; general Sullivan being the only individual in 
the military council of Washington, who entertained such 
an idea. 

Illness of general Greene. — General Greene, who had 
been appointed commander of the American force on 
Long Island, was unfortunately taken ill, shortly before 
the attack ; and Washington had been, at length, though 
reluctantly, induced to transfer the command to general 
Putnam, who had not had opportunity of becoming well 
informed regarding the locality of his post, or of the ar- 
rangements designed for its defence, in case of attack. 
Washington, himself, expecting that the main attack of 
the enemy would be made on the city of New York, 
was, of couise, with the main body of the American army, 
which was encamped in the city and adjacent parts of 
Manhattan island. 

Local features of the hattle-ground. — The peculiar sur- 
face of the adjoining country afforded sj^ecial advantages 
for repelling the approaches of a hostile force, in the di- 
I'ection taken by the invading army. The whole ground, 
— intersected by creeks, morasses, ravines, and narrow 
defiles, and conveniently covered, at intervals, by woods, 
— seemed to render it a task of the utmost peril to at- 
tempt the well-intrenched line of the heights ; while, — 
under the direction of general Greene, — the most skil- 
ful advantage had been taken of every point at which 
a redoubt or fosse could add to the natural strencrth 



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HISTOEY.— 1776. 241 

of a position, or cover one that seemed compai'atively 
weak. 

Landing of ilie British at New JJtreclit. — But the ill- 
ness of Greene, and the consequent want of due concert 
and vigilance, in conducting operatiojis, at the decisive 
moment, rendered all apparent advantages unavailing. 
The British troops, leaving Staten island, landed at New 
Utrecht, near the southwestern extremity of Long Island, 
on the 22d of August, and, after several days of inaction, 
— designed to throw the Americans off their guard, — pro- 
ceeded, on the evening of the 26th, in profound silence, 
to the meditated attack. 

Character of the British army. — The battle of Long 
Island, was, on the part of the British, conducted with 
great skill, as well as the utmost vigilance and bravery. 
The commanders regarded the day, not unjustly, as des- 
tined to form a decisive one, for the campaign ; the 
army, with its vast force of cavalry and artillery, its dis- 
tinguished officers and veteran troops, who had reaped 
well-earned laurels on more than one field in Europe, 
was one of the finest specimens of a complete military 
force, that had ever visited the shores of America ; and 
the arrangements for the attack were executed with the 
precision of the movements on the chess-board. 

Position of the American camp. — General Putnam's line 
extended from Wallabout bay, on the left, to Gowanus 
cove, on the right ; while the East River, on his rear, en- 
abled him to maintain communication with the main body 
of the American army, on Manhattan island. In front, 
extended the wooded heights which traverse the island 
from east to west. These could be penetrated at three 
points only : one, on the left, near to the Narrows ; an- 
other, the road towards the centre, passing the village of 
Flatbush ; the third, by a distant circuit, through the 
village of Flatlands, on the right. Along the summit 
was the road from Bedford to Jamaica, intersected by 
the road through Flatlands. These roads were all to 
have been under the surveillance of posts of observation, 
and scouting parties, charged with the duty of main- 
taining strict watch and constant communication with 
the lines in front of the camp, — a duty which, rpost 
unfortunately, was, in one instance, but negligently pep- 
formed. 



242 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CVU. 

Advance of the British army. — The invading force ad- 
vanced : its left, under major-general Grant, to the north 
and the Narrows, — its right, under generals Clinton, 
Percy, and Cornvvallis, to the south, by Flatlands, and 
the Jamaica and Bedford road, — its centre, composed of 
the Hessians, under general Heister, on the village of 
Flatbush. Generals Grant and Heister were each to an- 
noy and distract the enemy, while the right should press 
on, seize the Jamaica and Bedford road, and thence de- 
bouche on the American flank and rear. 

Successful approach of Clinton. — All the intended move- 
ments were executed with promptness and entire success. 
The scouting parties had relaxed their vigilance ; a deci- 
sive pass was left unoccupied ; general Clinton, in the 
advance, occupied the road to Bedford, seized the defile, 
and halting till joined by lord Percy and his corps of ar- 
tillery and cavalry, descended to the plain between the 
heights and the American camp at Brooklyn, These 
movements would have decided the day, independently 
of those of the other portions of the British army. 

Movement of the British left tving. — General Grant, 
meanwhile, on the left, proceeded to diveit the attention 
of the Americans from the movements of Clinton, by an 
attack on the militia of New York and Pennsylvania, who 
guarded a defile connected with the Flatlands road, and 
who, at first, gave ground ; but, on being reinforced by 
general Parsons, and rallied on an adjoining eminence, 
they bravely maintained their position till the arrival of 
lord Stirling ; after which, the battle was successfully 
maintained by them, for several hours. 

Attack on the A?nerican centre. — General Heister and 
his Hessians had assailed the American centre, at day- 
break ; and, although general Sullivan, who was there in 
command, had been taken at utter disadvantage, in con- 
sequence of the failure of seasonable intelligence of the 
enemy's approach, resistance was bravely maintained. 

Perplexing condition of the American right flank. — The 
English ships now succeeded in opening their fire on the " 
right flank of the Americans who were engaged with 
general Grant, and who were thus kept in ignorance of 
the fate of the day, in their centre and on their left. 

Desperate condition of the American centre. — General 
Clinton, meanwhile, descended into the plain, towards 



ral^ 



HISTORY.— 1776. 243 

the left of the centre ; and having first detached a body 
of troops to intercept the rear of the Americans who were 
occupied in front with the Hessians, commenced a fresh 
assault. The Americans retreated, but in good order, 
before this disparity of force. They were now met by 
the enemy in their rear, nnd driven back upon the Hes- 
sians, who, in turn, repulsed them upon the English, 
Thus doubly exposed to destruction, the loss of th.v 
Americans was severe. Gor»ded, at length, to despera 
tion, several regiments cut th*;ir way through the verj 
centre of the enemy, and reqj'nined their own camp 
Several others escaped through the woods. 

Fate of the American right wing. — The American right 
wing, ignorant of what had occurre'3 elsewhere, was still 
engaged with general Grant. But, on receiving informa- 
tion of the fate of their countrymen, cotimenced a retreat. 
Some succeeded in escaping through the woods ; others 
perished in the attempt to pass through ♦h'Si marshes of 
Govvanus cove; few, comparatively, succeeded m reaching" 
the camp. 

Perplexities of general Putnam. — The brave Putnam, 
shut up in camp, ill informed as to the localit^'e" of the 
surrounding country, and the numbers and direciiou of 
the approaching forces of the enemy, — perplexed by ^he 
insuperable difficulties of his situation, and chafed, likt» 
the hunted animal at bay, could only send forth, at ran 
dom, such reinforcements as the pressure, at any point 
seemed to require, but wisely avoided the sally to which 
his impetuosity would have impelled him. Night, and 
the fatigue of the victors, at length came to his relief, and 
closed the disastrous day. 

The close of this painful scene of discomfiture, was be- 
held, with unutterable anguish, by the American com- 
mander-in-chief, who had hurried over, from New York, 
but was unable to rescue his brave soldiers from the fate 
against which they had so manfully struggled. Resistance 
to the well-appointed army of Britain, would have been 
the sure destruction of his ill-provided and irregular force ; 
and all that he could do, was to devise the speediest means 
of retreat for the remnant of the American troops. 

The destruction of life, on this hard-fought field, was, 
on the American side, lamentably great. It was rated, 
by the latter, at upwards of one thousand ; — by the Brit- 



244 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CVIIL 

ish, at more than three thousand in killed, wounded, and 
prisoners. Among the first, was nearly the entire regi- 
ment of Maryland, numbering some of the foremost young 
men of that state : among the missing, were generals 
Sullivan and Stirling, who had been compelled to sur- 
render, on the field, and general Woodhull,* who had 
been detached on a special duty, and compelled to sur- 
render on the day following the battle. 

Reading Lesson CVIII. 

Wiflidrawal of the Avicrican troops from the camp at 
Brooklyn. — On the day following the battle, the British 
encamped in front of the American lines, and proceeded 
to throw up their works, but were checked by the well- 
directed fire of the riflemen in the camp. On the night 
of the 29th, general Washington, who had not permitted 
himself to sleep since the commencement of the fatal 
battle, superintended the conveyance of the troops to 
New York ; and, by aid of a dense fog, and the perfect 
order and silence of the troops, the whole force was re- 
moved, without farther loss ; although the enemy were so 
near, that the sound of their entrenching tools was plainly 
heard during the night, and as the last boat was pushed 
off, the dispersion of the fog, at that moment, left the 
British sentinels in sight. 

A sad blow was thus struck at the hopes of America, 
in her struggle against aggression ; and the state of New 
York, in particular, suffered, for a time, the deepest de- 
pression. But no disposition was felt to abandon the 
cause of freedom, or, as yet, to relinquish the city to the 
possession of the enemy. 

Threatening position of the British fleet. — The move- 
ments of both armies, in the vicinity of the city of New 
York, at this critical period, can be rightly understood 
only by adverting to the fact that the British commander 
eagerly hoped, bj' a decisive movement, to succeed in 
capturing the whole American army ; while the policy of 
Washington was, by strict vigilance, to avoid an unavail- 
ing exposure of his scanty force. The somewhat tardy 
movements of the former, and the extreme caution of the 
latter, are thus fully explained. The prudence to refrain 
* See hia life, on a subsequent page. 



HISTORY.— 1776. 245 

and to withold, which Washington, at this time, exer- 
cised over his o\vii ardent temperament, secured the army 
of his country, and, with it, the only possibility of ultimate 
success to the cause of American liberty. 

The next intended movement of the hostile force, aftei 
the sanguinary battle of Long Island, was indicated, within 
a few days, by the aj^pearance of part of the British fleet 
in the Sound, while the remainder took up a position 
within cannon shot, nearly, of the city itself. 

Withdrawal of the American troops from the city. — A 
council of war was held, on the 12th of September, at 
which it was decided that to save the inhabitants from 
the horrors of an attack, and to secure the safety of the 
army in its present depressed condition, the troops should 
be immediately withdrawn to a stronger position, in the 
middle and northern parts of the island. The commander- 
in-chief took up his head quarters, accordingly, on the 
heights of Harlem ; and a strong force was stationed at 
jKingsbridge, on the mainland. 

Landing of the British on Manhattan island. — A large 
body of the enemy, under the command of Clinton, landed 
on the 15th, about three miles above the city, at Kipp's 
bay, on the eastern side of the island, and took np their 
position in a line extending, across, to Bloomingdale, on 
the western side. So expeditiously was this movement 
effected, that there was barely time to withdraw the last 
bf the American troops from the city. Part of their 

Eirtillery and stores was unavoidably captured. 
Encounter between the British and American outposts. — 
The approach of the enemy to the temporary works 
hrown up near to Kipp's bay, took the raw levies sta- 
tioned there, by surprise. A rapid and disorderly retreat 
followed, which even the presence and personal exertions 
of Washington could not check. 

On the following day, however, the commander-in-chief, 
selecting a favorable opportunity to accustom his troops 
to face and encounter their enemy, detached a party to 
cut off an advanced body of the British, on the inter- 
vening plain. The movement was headed by colonel 
Knowlton and major Leitch ; and, although both these 
brave officers fell in the attack, the advantage was with 
the Americans. The troops engaged in this afiair, being 
warmly commended by general Washington, the skirmish 



I 



246 NEW- YORK CLASS 5COK.— LESSON CVIII. 

was of great service, in reviving tbe sinking spirits of the 
army. 

Great fire in the city. — On the 21st of September, a de- 
structive fire, commencing at Whitehall slip, laid waste a 
large part of the city. Trinity church, of that day, was 
consumed ; and the fire was not extinguished till it had 
reached the present Barclay street. St. Paul's church 
was saved, with much difficulty. This disastrous confla- 
gration was, by some, attributed to the confusion attend- 
ing the withdrawal of the American troops, and the arrival 
of the enemy. By the British, it was said to be the result 
of spiteful design, with a view to harass and disappoint 
the invaders, and was so rejjorted by general Howe. A 
third account attributed the origin of the fire to disorderly 
conduct, on the part of the newly-arrived British soldiery, 
themselves. 

General Hoive^s attempts to cut off the communications 
of the American army. — The strength of the position tak- 
en by Washington, rendering it unadvisable to attempt 
carrying it by assault, general Howe proceeded, on the 
12th of October, with a large force, to turn the American 
rear, by a flanking movement, on each side. But Wash- 
ington, apprized of the design, withdrew the main body 
of his troops to Kingsbridge. At a council of war, held 
at this juncture, it was deemed best to withdraw the Amer- 
ican forces wholly from their present posts, except forts 
Washington and Lee, which were indispensable to keep 
the North River open to the Americans. To hold the 
former, a force of tlu-ee thousand men was detached, un- 
der colonel Magaw. 

Action at White Plains. — To secure his army from the 
intended movement of Howe, Washington extended his 
front along the western branch of Bronx river, towards 
White Plains. Here, on the 2Sth, a partial action was 
brought on, in which the American army suffered the loss 
of the brave colonel Smallwood, and several hundred men. 

Subsequent movements of Washington. — Withdrawing 
from White Plains to a more advantageous position, 
Washington now prepared to make a decisive stand, and 
to encounter the enemy, on terms more equal than hith- 
erto, in the depressed condition of his army. General 
Howe, distrusting his success, in case of an engagement 
with his actual force, awaited the arrival of lord Percy 



HISTORY.— 1776. 247 

and the rear, which did not take place till the 30th. A 
heavy rain, on that night and the following day, prevent- 
ed the intended attack ; and Washington, having secured, 
in the meantime, a strong position on the heights of North 
Castle, general Howe directed his movements towards 
the American posts on the Hudson, with a view to pene- 
trate New Jersey. Washington, accordingly, left gen- 
eral Lee, with a body of seven thousand men, at North 
Castle, and proceeded, with the main body, to strengthen 
general Greene, at fort Lee. 

Surrender of fort Washington. — On the 16th of Novem- 
ber, general Howe proceeded to invest fort Washington. 
• Having completed his arrangements for an assault, the 
British commander summoned the fort to surrender, un- 
der pain of being put to the sword. Colonel Magaw re- 
plied that he would defend his post to the last. The as- 
sault was vigorously repulsed, till the ammunition of the 
Americans became nearly exhausted, and resistance was 
no longer practicable. The gai'rison, accordingly, surren- 
dered by capitulation ; and the whole island of New York 
thus fell into the hands of the invaders. The fall of fort 
Lee, and the subsequent disastrous retreat of the Ameri- 
can army through New Jersey, belong to the general his- 
tory of the country. 

Reading Lesson CIX. 

Operations at the north. — Returning to the movements 
of the invading army which had been repulsed from Cana- 
da, it will be recollected that the Americans had taken up 
their quarters at Crown Point. " Here," says Dr. Will- 
iams, " they remained for some time in safety, as the Brit- 
ish had no vessels on the lake, and consequently general 
Burgoyne could not pursue them. 

" To remedy this deficiency, there was no possible meth- 
od, but either to construct vessels on the spot, or take to 
pieces some vessels already constructed, and drag them 
up the river into the lake. This, however, was effected 
in no longer a period than three months ; and the British 
general, after incredible toil and difficulty, saw himself in 
possession of a great number of vessels, by which means 
le was enabled to pursue his enemies, and invade them 
n his turn. 



248 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CIX. 

I 

" The labor undergone at this time, by the sea and land *, 
forces, must indeed have been prodigious ; since there 
were conveyed over land, and dragged up the rapids of 
the Sorel, no few^er than thirty large long-boats, four hun- 
dred batteaux, besides a vast number of flat-bottomed 
boats, and a gondola of thirty tons. 

Design of the British commander. — " The intent of the 
expedition was to push forward, before winter, to Albany, 
where the army would take up its winter quarters, and, the 
next spring, effect ajunction with that under general Howe, 
when it was not doubted that the united force and skill of 
these two commanders would speedily put a termination 
to the war. 

" By reason of the difficulties with which the equip- 
ment of this fleet had been attended, it was the beginning ; i 
of October before the expedition could be undertaken. 
It was, however, by every judge, allowed to be com- 
pletely able to answer every purpose for which it was in- 
tended. It consisted of one large vessel with three masts, 
can-ying eighteen twelve-pounders ; two schooners, the 
one carrying fourteen, the other twelve six-pounders ; a 
large flat-bottomed radeau, with six twenty-four,. and six 
twelve-pounders; and a gondola with eight nine-pounders. 

" Besides these, there were twenty vessels of a smaller 
size, called gun-boats, carrying each a piece of brass ord- 
nance, from nine to twenty-four-pounders, or howitzers. 
Several long-boats were fitted out in the same manner ; 
and besides all these, there was a vast number of boats 
and tenders of various sizes, to be used as transports for 
the troops and baggage. It was manned by a number of 
select seamen, and the guns were to be served by a de- 
tachment from the corps of artillery ; the officers and sol- 
diers appointed for this expedition were also chosen out 
of the whole army. 

Brave conduct of Arnold. — " To oppose this formidable 
armament, the Americans had only a very inconsiderable 
force, commanded by general Arnold ; who, after enga- 
ging a part of the British fleet for a whole day, took ad- 
vantage of the darkness of the night, to set sail without 
being perceived, and, next morning, was out of sight. But 
he was so hotly pursued by the British, that, on the second 
day after, he was overtaken, and forced to a second en- 
gagement. 



HISTORY.— 1777. 249 

" In this, he behaved with great gallantry ; but his force 
being very inferior to that of the enemy, he was obliged 
to run his ships on shore, and set them on fire. A few 
only escaped to lake George ; and the garrison of Crown 
Point, having destroyed and carried off every thing of 
value, retired to Ticonderoga. Thither general Carleton 
intended to have pursued them ; but the difficulties he 
had to encounter, appeared so many and so great, that it 
vvas thought proper to march back into Canada, and de- 
sist from any further operations, till the next spring." 

The result of the campaign of 1776, was, of course, dis- 
couraging, in the extreme, to the Americans, and pecu- 
iai"ly so to the friends of independence in the state of 
New York. But this juncture proved only the ebb tide 
■){ the revolutionary movement, and was replaced, ere 
ong, by the full current of triumphant success. 

SEC. III. — EVENTS OF 1777. 

Reading Lesson CX. 

Predatory excursions of t/ie British troops from the city 
->f New York. — While the American army, under Wash- 
ngton, had i-allied, and recovered the greater part of New 
Jersey, the British force stationed in the city of New 
STork, was detached, occasionally, on predatory excur- 
sions, to seize supplies, and harass the people of the ad- 
jacent country. 

Attempt on Peekskill. — A large quantity of military 
Stores, belonging to the Americans, had been deposited 
it Peekskill, on the Hudson. General Howe, hoping to 
obtain possession of this prize, or, at least, to destroy it, 
iletached a strong force up the river, for this purpose. 
The American force, in that quarter, was utterly incom- 

Ketent to resist ; and the stores were therefore set on 
re, just in time to prevent their falling into the hands 
of the enemy ; and the place was immediately abandoned. 
All that the British troops effected by their movement, 
[vas but to finish the destruction which the Americans 
jad begun. Having accomplished their object, they re- 
iirned to the city. 

Expedition against Danhury. — It is painful to see a 
ligh-minded man like general Try on, former British 
jovernor of New York, descending to soil his name by 



250 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXL 

connecting it with such proceedings as we are now de- 
scribing. But we find him, on the 25th of April, setting 
out from New York, at the head of a body of four thou- 
sand men, on an errand of this degrading character. On 
the 26th, he directed his force against Dan bury in Con- 
necticut, and, not contented with the destruction of the 
stores, there, proceeded to burn and sack the town. His 
troops committed the most disgraceful atrocities on the 
unarmed and unresisting inhabitants. 

Having accomplished the purposes of the expedition, 
the British force was retiring from the place, when gen- 
erals Arnold, Silliman, and the veteran Wooster, hastily 
rallied the militia of the adjoining region, and assailed 
the enemy with a galling and destructive fire, which they 
kept up till the invaders regained their shipping. Nearly 
three hundred men, of the enemy, killed, wounded, or 
prisoners, fell, or were taken, during the retreat. The 
American loss was slight in numbers, but unfortunately 
included the gallant general Wooster, whose patriotic 
spirit had called him out to the encounter, at the advanced 
age of seventy. 

American expedition against Sag Harbor. — A tempo- 
rary depot of military stores had been formed by the 
British at Sag Harbor, near the eastern extremity of 
Long Island, under the protection of an armed sloop and 
a body of infantry. On the night of the 22d of May, 
colonel Meigs, with a party of Connecticut militia, crossed 
the Sound, arrived before daylight, surprised the post, 
took ninety prisoners, burned a large number of small 
craft, and returned without loss. This exploit called 
forth the congratulations of the whole country ; and con- 
gress rewarded its hero with the presentation of a sword. 

Operations at the north. — The American army at the 
north, had, it will be recollected, after having abandoned 
Crown Point, withdrawn to Ticonderoga, then a place of 
great strength, and generally deemed impregnable. Gen- 
eral Carleton had, accordingly, declined attempting the 
place, and withdrawn his troops, as formerly mentioned. 

Reading Lesson CXI. 

The army of Burgoyne. — Early in spring, general Bur- 
goyne, who had served under Carleton, in the preceding 



HISTORY.-1777. 251 

ampaign, took the command of a powerful force of Eh- 
jlish, German, Canadian, and Indian troops, for the re- 
luction of Ticonderoga. 

" The officers," says Dr. Williams, " who commanded 
mder general Burgoyne, were general Phillips of the ar- 
illery, generals Fraser, Powell, and Hamilton, with the 
German officers, generals Reidesel and Speecht.* The 
oldiers were all excellently disciplined, and had been 
:ept in their winter quarters with all imaginable care, in 
»rder to prepare them for the expedition on which they 
vere going. 

Colonel St. Leger's command. — " To aid the principal 
ixpedition, another was projected on the Mohawk river, 
inder colonel St. Leger, who was to be assisted by Sir 
ohn Johnson. 

j Preparations for the siege. — " On the 21st of June, 1777, 
he army encamped on the western side of lake Cham- 
tlain; where, being joined by a considerable body of In- 
ians, general Burgoyne made a speech, in which, it is 
aid, he exhorted these new allies, but ineffectually, to 
ay aside their ferocious and barbarous manner of making 
yar ; to kill only such as opposed them in arms ; and to 
bare prisoners, with such women and children as should 
all into their hands. After issuing a proclamation, in which 
ae force of Britain, and that which he commanded, were 
Bt forth in very ostentatious terms, the campaign opened 
irith the siege of Ticonderoga. 

" The place was very strong, and gamsoned by six thou- 
md men, under general Sinclair; nevertheless, the works 
rere so extensive, that even this number was scarcely 
efficient to defend them properly. The Americans had 
mitted to fortify a rugged eminence called Mount Defi- 
nce, the top of which overlooked, and effectually com- 
anded the whole works. It was thought, perhaps, that 
16 difficulty of the ascent would be sufficient to prevent 
16 enemy from taking possession of it. 

The British press the siege. — " On the approach of the 
rst division of the British, the Americans abandoned and 
Bt fire to their outworks ; and so expeditious were the 
British troops, that by the 5th of July, every post was 
soured, which was judged necessary for investing it 
ompletely. A road was soon after made to the very 
♦ Pronounced, Ry'daisail : Spaiht, — h sounded harsh. 



252 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CXL 

summit of that eminence which the Americans had sup- 
posed could not be ascended; and so much were they 
now disheartened, that they instantly abandoned the fort 
entirely, taking the road to Skeenesborough, at the head 
of lake Champlain ; while their baggage, with what ar- 
tillery and military stores they could carry off, was sent 
to the same place by water. 

Losses at Skee?iesborough. — " But the British generals 
were determined not to let them pass so easily. Both were 
pursued, and both overtaken. Their armed vessels consist- 
ed only of five galleys ; two of which were taken, and three 
blown up ; on which, they set fire to their boats and forti- 
fications at Skeenesborough. On this occasion, the Ameri- 
cans lost two hundred boats, one hundred and thirty pieces 
of cannon, together with all their provisions and baggage. 

" The American land forces, under colonel Francis, 
made a brave defence against general Fraser; and, supe- 
rior in number, had almost overpowered him, when gen- 
eral Reidesel, with a large body of Germans, came to his 
assistance. The Americans were now overpowered in 
their turn ; and, their commander being killed, they fled 
on all sides with great precipitation. In this action, two 
hundred Americans were killed, and as many taken pris- 
oners, and above six hundred wounded, many of whom 
perished in the woods for want of assistance. 

Retreat of general Sinclair. — "During the engagement, 
general Sinclair was at Castleton, about ten miles from 
the place ; but, instead of going forward to fort Ann, the 
next place of strength, he repaired to the woods which lie 
between that fortress and New England. General Bur- 
goyne, however, detached colonel Hill, with the ninth 
regiment, in order to intercept such as should attempt to 
retreat towards fort Ann. 

" On his way, he met with a numerous body of Ameri- 
cans ; but after an engagement of three hours, they were 
obliged to retire, with great loss. After so many disasters, 
despairing of being able to make any stand at fort Ann, 
they set fire to it, and retired to fort Edward. In all these 
engagements, the killed and wounded in the British army 
did not exceed two hundred men. 

Perseverance of general Burgoyne. — " General Burgoyne 
was now obliged to suspend his operations for some time, 
and wait at Skeenesborough for the arrival of his tents, 



HISTORY.— 1777. 253 

provisions, and stores, but employed this interval in mak- 
ing roads through the country about fort Ann, and in 
clearing a passage for his troops to proceed against the 
enemy. This was attended with incredible toil ; but all 
obstacles were surmounted with equal patience and res- 
olution by the army. 

. Arrival of the British force at fort Edward. — "In short, 
after undergoing the utmost difficulty that could be under- 
gone, and making every exertion that man could make, he 
I arrived with his army before fort Edward, about the end 
of July. Here general Schuyler had been, for some time, 
endeavoring to recruit the shattered American forces, and 
ihad been joined by general Sinclair, with the remains of 
his army ; the garrison of fort George also, situated on the 
lake of that name, had evacuated the place, and retired to 
fort Edward. 

Determination of the Americans. — " But on the approach 
of the royal army, the Americans retired from fort Ed- 
ward also, and formed their head quarters at Saratoga. 
Notwithstanding the great successes of the British gen- 
eral, they showed not the least disposition to submit, but 
seemed only to consider how they might make the most 
effectual resistance. — For this purpose, the militia was 
everywhere raised, and draughted to join the army at 
fearatoga; and such numbers of volunteers were daily 
added, that they soon began to recover from the alarm 
into which they had been thrown. 

Reading Lesson CXII. 

Advance of colonel St. Leger. — " That they might have 
commander whose abilities could be relied on, general 
Arnold was appointed, who repaired to Saratoga with a 
tjonsiderable train of artillery ; but receiving intelligence 
that colonel St. Leger was proceeding with great rapidity 
in his expedition on the Mohawk river, he removed to 
Stillwater, about half way between Saratoga and the 
junction of the Mohawk and Hudson rivers. 

Siege of fort Stamvix. — " The colonel, in the mean- 

ime, had advanced as far as fort Stanwix ; the siege of 

.vhich he pressed with great vigor. On the 6th of August, 

anderstanding that a supply of provisions, escorted by 

iaight or nine hundred men, was on the way to thp fort, 



254 NEW'- YORK CLASS BOOK.— LKSSnX CXII. 

he despatched Sh- John Johnson, with a strong detach- 
ment, to intercept it. This he did so effectually, that, ■ 
besides intercepting the provisions, four hundred of its • 
guard were slain, two hundred taken, and the rest escaped ] 
with great difficulty. 

" The garrison, however, were not to be intimidated ■ 
by this disaster, nor by the threats or representations of. 
the colonel ; on the contrary, they made several success- ' 
ful sallies under colonel Willet, the second in command ; 
and this gentleman, in company with another, even ven- 
tured out of the fort, and, eluding the vigilance of the 
enemy, passed through them, in order to hasten the march 
of general Arnold, to their assistance. 

Breaking up of colonel St. Legcr's force. — " Thus the] 
affairs of colonel St. Leger seemed to be in no very favor 
able situation, notwithstanding his late success ; and they] 
were soon totally ruined by the desertion of the Indians.! 
They had been alarmed by the report oT general Arnold's 
advancing with two thousand men to the relief of the? 
fort ; and, while the colonel was attempting to give them 
encouragement, another report was spread, that general 
Burgoyne had been defeated with great slaughter, and 
was now flying before the Americans. On this, he was 
obliged to do as they thought proper; and the retreat 
could not be effected without the loss of the tents, and 
some of the artillery and military stores. 

Impediments encountered hy general Burgoyne. — " Gen- 
eral Burgoyne, in the meantime, notwithstanding the dif- 
ficulties he had already sustained, found that he must still 
encounter more. The roads he had made, with so much 
labor and pains, were desti'oyed, either by the wetness of 
the season, or by the enemy, so that the provisions he had 
brought from fort George could, not arrive at his camp 
without the most prodigious toil. 

" On hearing of the siege of fort Stanwix, by colonel St. 
Leger, the general determined to move forward, in hopes 
of enclosing the Americans between his own army and. 
that of St. Leger, or of obtaining the command of all the 
counti-y between fort Stanwix and Albany, and forming 
a junction' with colonel St. Leger, which could not but be 
attended with favorable consequences. 

Colonel Baum's unsuccessful attempt on Bennington. — ■ 
" The only difficulty in the way of this project appeax'ed to 



HISTORY.— 1777. 255 

be the want of provisions ; and, to remedy this, general 
Burgoyne proposed to reduce the American magazines at 
Bennington. For this purpose, colonel Baum,* a German 
officer of great bravery, w^as despatched with a body of 
five hundred men. The place was about twenty miles to 
the eastward of Hudson river; and, to support colonel 
Baum's party, the whole army marched up the river's 
bank, and encamped almost opposite to Saratoga, with 
the river between it and that place. An advanced party 
was posted at Batten Kill, between the camp and Ben- 
nington, in order to support colonel Baum. On their 
jvvay, the British seized a large supply of cattle and pro- 
visions, which were immediately sent to the camp ; but 
the badness of the roads retarded their march so much, 
that intelligence of their design reached Bennington, 
^'here the Americans were collected in considerable force 
under general Stark. 

" Understanding, now, that the American force was 
yreatly superior to his own, colonel Baum acquainted 
general Burgoyne, who immediately despatched colonel 
Bieymant with a party to his assistance ; but, through the 
lame causes that had retarded the march of colonel Baum, 
his assistance could not arrive in time. 

General StarWs successful attack on the British force. — 
' General Stark, in the meantime, determined to attack 
he two parties separately ; and for this purpose advanced 
igainst colonel Baum, whom he surrounded on all sides, 
Lnd attacked with the utmost violence. The British de- 
jended themselves with great valor, but were, to a man, 
iither killed or taken. 

" Colonel Breyman, after a desperate engagement, had 
he good fortune to effect a retreat through the darkness 
>f the night, which otherwise he could not have done ; as 
lis men had expended all their ammunition — being forty 
ounds to each. 

Reading Lesson CXIII. 

Burgoyne' s movement on Saratoga. — "General Bur- 
oyne, thus disappointed in his attempt on Bennington, 
jpplied himself, with indefatigable diligence, to procure 
•rovisioTis from fort George ; and having at length amass- 
id a sufficient quantity to last for a month, he threw a 

* VvonovknceA, Boium; — o?«i sonndiug as in rfoicre. t Bryman. 



256 NEW-YORK CLASS-DOOK.— LESSON CXIII. 

bridge of boats over the river Hudson, which he crossed 
about the middle of September, encamping on the hills 
and plains near Saratoga. 

Encounter at Stillwater. — "As soon as he approached the 
American army, at this time encamped at Stillwater under | 
general Gates, he determined to make an attack ; for which 
purpose he put himself at the head of the central division \ 
of his army, having general Fraser and colonel Breyman j 
on the right, with generals Reidesel and Phillips on the left, j 

" In this position, he advanced towards the Americans 
on the 19th of September. But the Americans did not 
wait to be attacked : on the contrary, they attacked the '> 
central division with the utmost violence ; and it was not I 
until general Phillips came up with the artillery, and at 
eleven o'clock at night, that they could be induced to re- 
tire to their camp. . 

"On this occasion, the British lost about five hundred 
in killed and wounded, and the Americans about three 
hundred and nineteen. The former were very much 
alarmed at the obstinate resolution shown by the Ameri- 
cans ; yet this did not prevent them from advancing to- 
wards their enemy, and posting themselves, the next day, \ 
within cannon shot of their lines. But their allies, the In- 
dians, began to desert in great numbers. 

Condition of Burgoyne' s army. — " At the same time, 
general Burgoyne was in the highest degree mortified at 
receiving no intelligence of any assistance from Sir Hen- 
ry Clinton, as had been stipulated. He at length received 
a letter from him, by which he was informed, that Sir Hen- 
ry intended to make a diversion on the North River in his 
favor. This afforded but little comfort ; however, he re- 
turned an answer by several trusty persons, whom he dis- 
patched different ways, stating his present distressed situ- 
ation, and mentioning that the provisions and other neces- 
saries he had, would only enable him to hold out till the 
12th of October. 

American attempt on Ticonderoga. — " In the meantime, 
the Americans, in order to cut off the retreat of the Brit- 
ish army, in the most effectual manner, undertook an ex- 
pedition against Ticonderoga ; but were obliged to aban- 
don the enterprise, after having surprised all the outposts, 
and taken a great number of boats, with some armed ves- 
sels, and a number of prisoners. 



; HISTORY.-17-7. 257 

Increasing distress of Bzirgoyne's army. — " The army un- 
^er general Burgoyne, however, continued to labor under 
the greatest distresses ; so that, in the beginning of Octo- 
ber, he had been obliged to diminish the soldiers' allow- 
Imce. On the 7th of that month, he determined to move 
powards the enemy. For this purpose, he sent a body of 
iiifteen hundred men, to reconnoitre their left wing; in- 
ending, if possible, to break through it, in order to effect 
|i retreat. 

j Attack on tJie British camj). — " The detachment, how- 
ever, had not proceeded far, when a dreadful attack was 
|nade upon the left wing of the British army, which was 
ivith great difficulty preserved from being entirely brok- 
en, by a reinforcement brought up by general Fraser, who 
vas killed in the attack. After the troops had, with the 
nost desperate efforts, regained their ca.mp, it was most 
furiously assaulted by general Arnold, who, notwithstand- 
pg all opposition, would have forced the entrenchments, 
)ad he not received a dangei'ous wound, which obliged 
iiim to retire. Thus the attack failed on the left ; but, on 
he right, the camp of the German reserve was forced, 
iolonel Breyman killed, and his countrymen defeated 
[vith great slaughter, and the loss of all their artillery and 
pggage. 

I " This was by far the heaviest loss the British army had 
ustained, since the action at Bunkerhill. The list of 
tilled and wounded amounted to near twelve hundred, 
Exclusive of the Germans ; but the greatest misfortune 
jvas, that the Americans had now an opening on the right 
md rear of the British forces ; so that the army was threat- 
ned with entire destruction. 

Reading Lesson CXIV. 

Burgoyne attempts to retreat on Saratoga. — "General 
Burgoyne was obliged once more to shift his position, that 
he Americans might also be obliged to alter theirs. This 
A^as accomplished on the night of the 7th, without any 
oss ; and, all the next day, he continued to offer the Amer- 
icans battle ; but they were now too well assured of ob- 
;aining a complete victory, by cutting off all supplies from 
bhe British, to risk a pitched battle. Wherefore, they-ad- 
Vanced on the right side, in order to enclose him entirely; 



258 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXIV. « 

whicli obliged the general to direct a retreat towards Sar- 
atoga. 

" But the Americans had now stationed a great force 
on the ford at Hudson's river, so that the only possible 
retreat was by securing a passage to lake George ; and 
to effect this, a body of workmen were detached, with 
a strong guai-d, to repair the roads and bridges that led to 
fort Edward. As soon as they were gone, however, the 
Americans seemed to prepare for an attack ; which ren- 
dered it necessary to recall the guard, and the workmen 
being of coarse left exposed, could not proceed. 

" In the meantime, the boats which conveyed provis- ♦ 
ions down the river, were exposed to the continual fire 
of the American marksmen, who took many of them ; so 
that it became necessary to convey the provisions over 
land. In this exti-eme danger, it was resolved to march 
by night to fort Edward, forcing the passages at the fords, 
either above or below the place. 

" In order to effect this the more easily, it was resolv- 
ed, that the soldiers should carry their provisions on their 
backs, leavino; behind their bas^e^aefe, and every other in- 
cumbrance. But, before this could be executed, intelli- 
gence was received that the Americans had raised strong 
entrenchments opposite to these fords, well provided with 
cannon, and that they had likewise taken possession of 
the rising ground between fort George and fort Edward, 
which, in like manner, was provided with cannon. 

Increase of the American army. — " All this time, the 
American army was increasing, by the continual arrival 
of militia and volunteers, from all parts. Their parties 
extended all along the opposite bank of the river ; and 
some had even passed it, in order to observe the least 
movement of the British army. The whole force under 
'general Gates, who had been appointed by congress to 
the command of the army of the north, was computed to 
amount to sixteen thousand men, while the army under 
general Burgoyne scarce amounted to six thousand ; and 
every part of the camp was reached by the grape and rifle 
shot of the Americans, besides a discharge from their ar- 
tillery, which was almost incessant. 

Surrender of Burgoyne. — " In this state of extreme dis-. 
tress and danger, the British army continued with the 
greatest constancy and perseverance, till the evening of 



HISTORY.— 1777. 259 

the 13th of October, when, an inventory of provisions be- 
ing taken, it was found that no more remained than was 
sufficient to serve for three days ; and a council of war 
being called, it was unanimously determined, that there 
was no method now remaining but to treat with the Amer- 
icans. In consequence of this, a negotiation was opened, 
the next day, which speedily terminated in the capitula- 
tion of the whole British army ; the principal article of 
which was, that the troops were to have a free passage to 
Britain, on condition of not serving against America dur- 
ing the war. 

" On this occasion, general Gates, with a generous mag- 
nanimity, ordered his army to keep within their camp, 
while the British soldiers went to a place appointed for 
them to lay down their arras, that the latter might not 
have the additional mortification of being made a spectacle 
on so melancholy an event. 

" The number of those who surrendered at Saratoga, 
amounted to five thousand seven hundred and fifty, ac- 
cording to the American accounts ; the list of sick and 
wounded left in the camp, when the army retreated to 
Saratoga, to five hundred and twenty-eight ; and the num- 
ber of those lost by other accidents, since the taking of 
Ticonderoga, to near three thousand. Thirty-five brass 
field-pieces, seven thousand stand of arms, clothing for an 
equal number of soldiers, with the tents, military chest, 
and stores, constituted the booty on this occasion. 

Operations of general Clinton. — " Sir Henry Clinton, in 
the meantime, had sailed up the North River, and destroy- 
ed the two forts called Montgomery and Clinton, with 
fort Constitution, and another place called Continental 
Village, where were barracks for two thousand men. 
Seventy large cannon were carried away, besides a num- 
ber of smaller artillery, and a great quantity of stores and 
ammunition ; a large boom and chain, reaching across the 
river from fort Montgomery to a point of land called An- 
A thony's Nose, and which cost not less than seven thousand 
pounds sterling, were partly destroyed, and partly car- 
ried away, as was also another boom of little less value, at 
fort Constitution. The loss of the British army was but 
small in number, though some oflicers of great merit were 
killed in the different attacks. 

" Another attack was made by Sir James Wallace, with 



260 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXV. 

some frigates, and a body of land foi'ces under general 
Vaughan. The place which now suffered was named 
Esopus. The fortifications were destroyed, and the town 
itself was wantonly reduced to ashes, as Continental Vil- 
lage had been before. 

" But these successes, of whatever importance they 
might be, were now disregarded by both parties. They 
served only to irritate the Americans, flushed with their 
success ; and they wei'e utterly insufficient to raise the 
spirits of the British, who were now thrown into the ut- 
most dismay." 

Consequences of the surrender of Burgoyne. — Sir Henry 
Clinton, on hearing the news of Burgoyne's capitulation, 
immediately retreated to New York ; and Ticonderoga, 
and all other northern posts, were abandoned to the 
Americans. 

A new light of hope began now to beam on the cause 
of America; as it was sufficiently proved that no perfec- 
tion of valor, discipline, or equipment, could prevail 
against the determined spirit of a people resolved to be 
free, and now faii'ly accustomed to encounter the veteran 
troops of Europe. 

Reading Lesson CXV. 

Adoption of a state constitution. — From the scenes of 
disquiet and destruction, which we are now called to con- 
template, it is pleasing to turn to the peaceful operation 
of the principles of freedom, in the formation of the civil 
structure of the state. 

A convention, for the adoption of a state constitution, 
was called, in April, 1777 ; and, at Kingston, on the 8th 
of May, a council of safety, consisting of fifteen, was 
chosen and invested with full powers for temporary gov- 
ernment. Among the prominent names of this body, we 
find those of John Morin Scott, Robert R. Livingston, 
Gouverneur Morris, John Jay, and John Sloss Hobart. 

First choice of a governor for the state of New York. — 
The convention chose, for governor, George Clinton, — 
whose patriotism and courage, as well as political sagacity, 
displayed during the eighteen years of his incumbency, 
amply sanctioned the wisdom of the choice. The office 
to which Mr. Clinton was appointed, demanded great 



II 



HISTORY.— 1777. 261 

firmness and decision, as well as extensive popular favor. 
The critical period of transition, in which a state is re- 
modelled, and adopts new institutions, and new forms of 
government, is necessarily one requiring a combination 
of the highest qualities of talent and character in him who 
presides at the change. But in no instance was this more 
emphatically true, than in the case of the great political 
revolution of New York, by which it became an indepen- 
dent republic. The confusion attending all great political 
changes, gives scope to disorder and discontent ; and in 
New York, the elements of conflict were in full life, in 
die opposition of not a few men of wealth and influ- 
ence, to the principles of the revolution. Through all 
hese impediments, however, Mr. Clinton succeeded in 
conducting the newly formed state to a firm and settled 
condition. 

Other state officers cliosenfor the first time. — The follow- 
ing individuals were chosen, by the convention, to fill the 
various offices in the judiciary department: Robert R. 
Livingston, chancellor; John Jay, chief-justice; Robert 
Yates and John Sloss Hobart, judges ; and Egbert Ben- 
son, attorney-general. 

First meeting of the legislature of the state of New York. 

The first republican legislature of New York, met at 
Kingston, on the 1st of September, 1777 ; and, on the 10th, 
1 quorum having been formed, governor Clinton delivered 
bis first official address to that body. In his speech the 
representatives of the people were congratulated, on their 
behalf, on the success which, in various instances, had 
attended the operations of the American army. 

Delegates chosen to the continental congress. — The legis- 
lature proceeded to the election of state delegates to the 
continental congress ; and the following individuals were 
appointed, — Philip Livingston, James Duane, Francis 
Lewis, William Duer, and Gouverneur Morris. The 
state of New York was thus, at length, regularly repre- 
sented, as a member of the national union, in its incipient 
form. 

Adjournment of the legislature. — The new assembly was 
tiot permitted to remain long in session. The attack on 
the Highlands made it necessary that the legislature should 
adjourn on the 7th of October. Its next session was at 
Poughkeepsie, eaily in the following year. 



262 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXVI. 



SEC. IV.— EVENTS OF 1778 AND 1779. 

Legislative proceedings in 1778. — The unsettled ques- 
tion of the boundary lines of the state, continued a source 
of vexatious agitation ; and the principal action of the 
legislature, during this year, regarded the old controver- 
sy with Vermont. A resort to compulsory measures was 
plainly threatened ; and the governor, in acquiescence 
with the will of the legislature, pressed the subject on the 
attention of congress. But, as yet, no decisive result was 
attained. 

Washington's army encamped at White Plains. — Gen- 
eral Clinton having succeeded to the command held by 
general Howe, had been, for some time, occupying Phila- 
delphia. But, in obedience to orders from England, lie 
hastily evacuated that city, to avoid a surprise by the 
troops of France, then on their passage, and expected ■ 
speedily to arinve. He withdrew his troops through New \ 
Jersey, in the direction of New York, and, owing to thej 
misconduct of general Lee, with but little annoyance,;; 
reached the city by way of Sandyhook. The policy of | 
the American commandei', was to hem in and confine the| 
British forces, and watch for opportunities of attacking] 
detachments sent out for purposes of forage or plunder. 

Washington, accordingly, after the return of Clinton to 
New York, took up his position at White Plains, and there 
lay encamped till late in autumn. 

Reading Lesson CXVI. 

Massacre at Cherry Valley. — The only scene of warlike 
violence, within the borders of the state of New York, 
during the year 1778, was the inhuman massacre perpe- 
trated, in the month of November, by the hostile Indians, 
on the inhabitants of Cherry Valley. 

Colonel Alden of Massachusetts had been stationed 
with his regiment, at a post in that quarter, then frontier 
ground. Here he was surprised by the partisan leader, 
Butler, with his mixed force of tories and Canadians, aid- 
ed by the Indian Brandt and his followers. The surprise 
was complete, owing to the perfect knowledge of the local- 
ities, possessed by the invaders. This mixed force seems 



HISTORY.— 1779. 263 

to have been of the lowest description, and to have adopt- 
ed the brutal modes of war, practised by the savages. 
Colonel Alden and many of his men were barbarously 
murdered ; and the men, women, and children, of the ad- 
joining settlement, massacred in cold blood, with all the 
circumstances of atrocity which characterized the warfare 
of the Indian tribes. 

Expedition against the hostile Indians. — The Indian 
outrages at Cherry Valley, and in addition to these, the 
hori-id tragedy of Wyoming, — which we pass by, as be- 
longing to the annals of Pennsylvania, — excited a deep 
and universal indignation against the perpetrators. It 
was deemed indispensable to the peace of the border re- 
gion, that a memorable chastisement should be inflicted 
on those of the Indian race, who, instigated by Johnson 
and the English, had committed these atrocities on the 
settlements friendly to the cause of independence. 
! A force, under the command of general Sullivan, was 
despatched, in the summer of 1779, through New Jersey, 
o the territory of the Indians adjoining the region of 
^Wyoming. The requisite stores and artillery were con- 
i/eyed up the Susquehanna, in boats. Having reached 
phe Indian country, Sullivan awaited the approach of an- 
other division of the army, under the American general, 
[lames Clinton, which was to meet him by ascending the 
Mohawk. 

■ Devastation of the territory of the Onondagas. — Of all 
;he Six Nations, the Onondagas had distinguished them- 
elves by their hostility to the American party, and by the 
itrocities which they had perpetrated in the villages and 
remote settlements. Colonel Van Schaick, and others of 
",he New- York officers, conducted their force into the 
country of this tribe, and, after an encounter with them, 
In which a number of their bravest warriors were slain, 
devastated their corn-fields and burned their villages. 

Junction of the American forces. — The division under 
Clinton, opened, with incredible toil and perseverance, a 
oad to Otsego lake ; and, over this road, boats were car- 
tied, for the purpose of embarking the troops on the lake, 
and forming the junction with general Sullivan's command. 
(This object was, at length, successfully accomplished. 

Final overthrow of the hostile hidians. — The two divis- 
ions continued their advance into the hostile territory, 



264 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXVIL 

burning the villages and destroying the crops of the In- ji 
dians, till met, on the 29th of August, by Butler and f 
Brandt, with their whole force of tories, Canadians, and a 
Indians. The battle was not long sustained. The enemy* 
were totally discomfited, and their spirit so entirely crush- :. 
ed that they made no subsequent attempt, till long after, 
to rally, or, in any way, annoy the friends of American 
freedom. 

Exemption of the Oneidas froin invasion. — The Oneidas 
alone, of the confederate tribes, having maintained peace 
and neutrality, were exempted from the retributive devas- 
tation inflicted on the others; and, the object of the inva- 
sion having been fully accomplished, the American troops 
withdrew from the scene of hostilities. 

Reading Lesson CXVIL 

Clinton^ s expedition up the Hudson. — Winter and spring 
passed without any attempt on the part of the British force 
in New York ; and the main body of the American army 
continued in cantonments in New Jersey. But, on the 
1st of June, Sir Henry Clinton proceeded to execute the 
design which he had formed of seizing the posts on the 
Hudson, with a view to cut off the communications be- 
tween the eastern and middle states, which were so im- 
portant to the Americans. He was not without hopes 
that, if he should be successful in his first attempts, he 
might carry the fortified points and passes farther up the 
river, and thus secure the entire command of it. 

" Being informed," says our eminent historian, Mr. 
Sparks, " of the preparation in New York, and penetrat- 
ing the designs of the British commander, Washington 
was at hand in time to prevent the execution of the sec- 
ond part of the scheme. By rapid marches, he drew his 
troops from their cantonments in New Jersey, and placed 
them in such positions as to discourage Sir Henry Clin- 
ton from attempting anything farther, than the capture 
of the two posts above mentioned, which were in no con- 
dition to resist a formidable fleet, and an army of more 
than six thousand men. After this event, which happen- 
ed on the 1st of June, Clinton withdrew his forces down 
the river, and, at length, to New York ; leaving a strong 
garrison at each of the posts, with orders to extend and 



HISTORY.— 1779. 2G5 

complete the works begun by the Americans ; and also 
directing such a number of armed vessels and boats to re- 
main there, as would be necessary to furnish supplies, and 
contribute to their defence. 

j General Washington's head- quarters. — " General Wash- 
ington removed his head-quarters to New Windsor, a few 
miles above West Point, distributing his army chiefly in 
and near the Highlands, but stationing a force on each 
side of the river below, sufficient to check any sudden 
incursion of the enemy. 

Burning of New Haven, Fairfield, and Norwalk. — " The 
system of devastation and plunder was vigorously pursued 
by the British. About the beginning of July, a detach- 
ment of two thousand six hundred men, under governor 
Tryon, sailed from New York into Long-Island Sound. 
They first landed at New Haven, plundered the inhabi- 
tants indiscriminately, and burned the stores on the wharfs. 
This being done, they embarked, and landed at Fairfield 
and Norwalk, which towns were reduced to ashes. Dwell- 
ing-houses, shops, churches, schoolhouses, and the ship- 
ping in the harbors, wex'e destroyed. The soldiers pil- 
laged, without restraint, committing acts of violence, and 
xhibiting the horrors of war, in some of their most 
revolting forms. It does not appear that there were 
;roops, magazines, or public property, in either of the 
:owns. The waste and distress fell on individuals, who 
ivere pursuing the ordinary occupations of life. The 
oeople rallied in self-defence, and a few were killed ; 
3ut the enemy retired to their vessels before the militia 
:ould assemble in lai'ge numbers." 

Reading Lesson CXVIII. 

I I Intended attack on Stony Point. — " The British com- 
nander hoped that this invasion of Connecticut would 
Iraw away the American army from the Highlands, to a 
aosition where he might bring on an engagement under, 
favorable circumstances. Washington's habitual caution 
guarded him against allowing such an advantage. On 
r.he contrary, while the enemy's forces were thus divided, 
i:ie resolved to attack the strong post at Stony Point. 
r The necessity of doing something to satisfy the expecta- 
idons of the people, and reconcile them to the defensive 
i, M 



I 



266 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSOxN CXVIII. 



plan, which he was obligerl to pursue, the value of the 
'Acquisition in itself, with respect to the men, artillery, 
and stores, which composed the garrison, the eftect it- 
would have upon the successive opei-ations of the cam-^ 
paign, and the check it would give to the depredations of| 
the enemy,' were, as he said, the motives which prompted'' 
him to this undertaking. He reconnoitred the post him- 
self, and instructed major Henry Lee, who was stationed 
near it with a party of cavalry, to gain a]i the information, 
in his power, as to the condition of the works and the 
strength of the garrison. 

Command assigned to general iVayiic. — " The enterprise 
was intrusted to general Wayne, who commanded a body, 
of light infantry in advance of the main army, where he 
was placed to watch the movements of the enemy, to pre- 
vent their landing, and to attack separate parties, when-; 
ever opportunities should offer. Having procured all th 
requisite information, and determined to make the assault. 
Washington communicated general instructions to Wayne, 
in writing and conversation ; leaving the rest to the wel 
tried bravery and skill of that gallant officer. 

The assault on Stony Point. — " The night of the 15t 
of July was fixed on for the attack. After a march o: 
fourteen miles during the afternoon, the party arrivei 
within a mile and a half of the enemy, at eight o'clock i 
the evening. The works were then reconnoitred by th 
commander and the principal officers; and, at half pas 
eleven, the whole moved forward, in two columns, to th 
assault. The van of the right column consisted of one' 
hundred and fifteen volunteers, with unloaded muskets 
and fixed bayonets, preceded by twenty picked men to 
remove the abatis and other obstructions. One hundred 
volunteers, preceded likewise by twenty men, composed 
the van of the left. Positive ordei'S were given not lo 
fire, but to rely wholly on the bayonet, wliich orders v,-eie 
faithfully obeyed. A deep morass in fVont of the enemy's 
works, and a double row of abatis, retarded their progress ;.| i 
but these obstacles were soon overcome by the ardor off 
the troops; and the assault began, about twenty minutes'^ 
after twelve. From that time, they pushed forward in" 
the face of a tremendous fire of musketry and cannon:,* 
loaded with grapeshot ; and both columns met in the 
centre of the enemy's works, each arriving nearly at the 



HISTORY— 1779. 267 

same instant. General Wayne, who advanced with the 
right column, received a slight wound in the head, aif3 
was supported into the works, by his aids-de-camp. 

Success of the attack. — " The assault was successful in 
a.ll its parts. The number of prisoners was five hundred 
and forty-three ; and the number killed, on the side of the 
enemy, was sixty-three. Of the assailing party fifteen 
were killed, and eighty-three wounded. Several cannons 
and mortars of ^various sizes, a large number of muskets, 
shells, shot, and tents, and a proportional quantity of 
stores, were taken. The action is allowed to have been 
one of the most brilliant of the revolution. Congress 
passed resolves complimentary to the officers and pri- 
vates, granting specific rewards, and directing the value 
of all the military stores taken in the garrison to be 
divided among the troops, in proportion to the pay of the 
officers and men. Three different medals were ordered 
to be struck, emblematical of the action, and awarded 
jxespectively to general Wayne, colonel Fleury, and colo- 
inel Stewart. Congress also passed a vote of thanks to 
Igeneral Washington ' for the vigilance, wisdom, and mag- 
banimity, with which he had conducted the military oper- 
ations of the states,' and especially as manifested in his 
orders for the late attack." 

Reading Lksson CXIX. 

Ffoposed attach upon Verplanck's Point. — " It was 
Washington's first intention, if the storming of Stony Point 
should prove successful, to make an immediate attempt 
against Verplanck's Point, on the opposite side of the 
river. For this purpose he had requested general Wayne 

to forward the intelligence to head-quarters, through the 
lands of general McDougall, who commanded at West 
Point, and who would be in readiness to send down a de- 
tachment, by the way of Peekskill, to attack Verplanck's 
ipoint on the land side, while it was cannonaded from 
Stony Point across the river. By some misunderstanding, 
the messenger neglected to call at West Point ; and thus 
Several hours were lost before general McDougall received 
the intelligence. To this delay has been asci'ibed the fail- 
ure of the undertaking against Verplanck's Point. From 
jthe letters of general McDougall and other officers, writ 



268 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXIX. 

ten at the time, however, it is evident that the want of 
horses and conveniences for the transportation of artillery, 
was such, as to render it impossible, in any event, to arrive 
at Verplanck's Point with the adequate means of assault, 
before the enemy had assembled a sufficient force to give 
entire security to the garrison. 

Dismantling of Stony Point. — " When Washington ex- 
amined Stony Point, after the capture, he resolved to 
evacuate the post, remove the cannon and stores, and de- 
stroy the works. Being accessible by the enemy's vessels 
of war, a lai'ger number of men would be required for the 
defence than could properly be spared from the main 
army ; and, at the same time, it might be necessary to 
hazard a general action, which was by no means to be 
desired on such terms as would be imposed, and for such 
an object. Everything was brought off, except one heavy 
cannon. The enemy afterwards reoccupied the post, and 
repaired the works. 

Paulus Hook surprised by major Lee. — "About a month 
after the storming of Stony Point, another enterprise, simi- 
lar in its character, and not less daring, was executed by 
major Henry Lee. At the head of three hundred men, 
and a troop of dismounted dragoons, he surprised the 
enemy's post at Paulus Hook, opposite to New York, and 
took one hundred and fifty -nine prisoners ; having two 
only of his party killed, and three wounded. The plan 
originated with major Lee ; and great praise was bestow- 
ed upon him, for the address and bravery with which it 
was executed. A medal of gold, commemorative of the 
event, was ordered by congress to be struck and presented 
to him. 

Works at West Point constructed. — " No other events 
of much importance happened in the army under Wash- 
ington's immediate command, during the campaign. The 
British troops remained inactive at New York ; and the 
Americans held their ground in the Highlands. In the 
course of this year, the works at West Point and in its vi- 
cinity, were chiefly constructed. A part of the time, two 
thousand five hundred men were on fatigue duty, every 
day. Before the end of July, the head-quarters of the 
commander-in-chief were removed to West Point, where 
he continued for the rest of the season." 



HrsTORY.-irra. 269 

Reading Lesson CXX. 

Severity of tJie winter of 1119-^0. — Towards the end of 
December, 1779, Sir Henry Clinton, intending an attack 
on Charleston, South Carolina, set sail from New York, 
with a formidable force, on board a fleet of men of war 
and transports, under the command of vice-admiral, Ar- 
buthnot. Dr. Williams, in his history, gives the following 
graphic sketch of the condition of the city at that time. 

" While Sir Henry Clinton was employed in his voy- 
age to Charleston, and in the siege of that place, the o-ar- 
rison at New York seem not to have been wholly free 
from apprehensions for their own safety. An intense frost, 
accompanied with great falls of snow, began about the 
middle of December, 1779, and shut up the navigation of 
the port of New York, from the sea, within a few days 
after the departure of the fleet under admiral Arbuthnot. 

" The severity of the weather increased to so great a 
degree, that, towards the middle of January, all communi- 
cations with New York, by water, were entirely cut off, 
and as many new ones opened by the ice. The inhabi- 
tants could scarcely be said to be in an insular state. 
Horses with heavy carriages could go over the ice into 
the Jerseys, from one island to another. 

" The passage on the North River, even in the widest 
part, from New York to Powles Hook, was, about the 
19th of January, practicable for the heaviest cannon : an 
event which had been unknown, in the memory of man. 
Provisions were soon after transported upon sledges, and 
a detachment of cavalry marched upon the ice from New 
York to Staten island, which was a distance of eleven 
miles. 

Apprc7iended attack on New York. — " The city of New 
York, in these circumstances, was considered as much 
exposed to attacks from the American troops ; and it was 
currently reported that general Washington was medita- 
ting a grand attack upon New York, with his whole force, 
in different divisions. Some time before this, maior-ffen- 
era! Pattison, commandant at New York, having received 
an address from many of the inhabitants, offering to put 
themselves in military array, he thought the present a 
favorable opportunity of trying the sincerity of their pro- 
fessions. 



270 NEW- YORK CLAS3-BOOK.-LESSON CXXI. 

"Accordingly he issued a proclamation, calling upon 
all the male inhabitants from the age of sixteen to sixty, 
to take up arms. Tlie requisition was so readily complied 
with, that, in a few days, forty companies, from the six 
wards of the city, were enrolled, officered, and under 
arms, to the number of two thousand six hundred ; many 
substantial citizens serving in the ranks of each company. | 
Other volunteer companies were formed; and the cityl 
was put into a very strong posture of defence. i 

Descent on Staten island. — " No attack, however, was \ 
made upon New York, whatever design might originally 
have been meditated ; but an attempt was made upon 
Staten island, where there were about one thousand eight 
hundred men, under the command of brigadier-general 
Stirling,* who were well entrenched. General Washing- 
ton, whose army was hutted at Morristown, sent a detach- 
ment of two thousand seven hundred men, with six pieces 
of cannon, two mortars, and some horses, commanded by 
lord Stirling,! who arrived at Staten island, early in the 
morning of the 15th of January. 

" The advanced posts of the British troops retired upon 
the approach of the Americans, who formed the line, and 
made some movements in the course of the day; but they 
withdrew in the night, after having burned one house, 
pillaged some others, and carried off" with them about two 
hundred head of cattle. 

" Immediately on the arrival of the Americans on Staten 
island, lieutenant-genei'al Knyphausen had embarked six 
hundred men, to attempt a passage, and to support gen- 
eral Stirling ; but the floating ice compelled them to re- 
turn. It is imagined, however, that the appearance of 
these transports, with the British troops on board, which 
the AmeT-icans could see towards the close of the day, in- 
duced the latter to make so precipitate a retreat." 

Reading Lesson CXXI. 

Inhuman treatment of American prisoners. — Among the 
most painful consequences of the war, were the cruelties 
practised by the Biitish soldiery on such of the American 

* The British officer of that name. 

+ The American general, — formerly Mr. Alexander, — who had be- 
come heir to the estate and title of earl of Stirling. 



HISTORy.-1780. 271 

people as fell under their power. The revoked colonists, 
stigmatized as rebels, were, in the spirit peculiar to all 
the regular armies of that day, treated, not as open ene- 
mies or honorable prisoners of war, but as traitors to their 
king and country. The highest officers, not less than the 
lowest of their men, seem to have regarded no treatment 
as too harsh for such Americans as had adopted revolu- 
tionary sentiments. The disgraceful deeds of lord Dun- 
more in Virginia, and of ex-governor Tryon in Connec- 
ticut, and the yet more disgraceful sanction of their 
predatory expeditions by the English government, the 
deliberate murder, in repeated instances, of officers who 
had surrendered on the field, all leave little doubt regard- 
ing the course which a brutalized soldiery, hardened by 
the military life of that day, were accustomed to pursue, in 
relation to the rebel provincials who fell into their bands. 

The Jcrscij prison-ship. — The American prisoners taken 
in battle, were, in large numbers, sent on board the Jer- 
sey pi'ison-ship, where, by rigorous confinement, neglect, 
disease, and starvation, they were soon cut off. The 
horrors of tliis i-eceptacle of the unfortunate, surpassed 
those of the black-hole of Calcutta itself. The following 
sketch of them is extracted fi'om the account given by the 
Rev. Mr. Andros, who, in his youth, had sailed as a priva- 
teersman from New London. 

" We were captured on the 27th August, by the Sole- 
bay frigate, and safely stowed away in the old Jersey 
prison-ship, at New York. 

" This was an old sixty-four gun ship, which, through 
age, had become unfit for farther actual service. She was 
stripped of every spar and all her rigging. After a battle 
with the French fleet, her lion figure-head was taken 
away to repair another ship ; no appearance of ornament 
was left; and nothing remained but an old, unsightly, 
rotten hulk. Her dark and filthy external appearance 
perfectly corresponded with the death and despair that 
reigned within ; and nothing could be more foreign from 
truth than to paint her with colors flying, or any circum- 
stance or appendage to please the eye. 

" She was moored about three quarters of a mile to 
the eastward of Brooklyn ferry, near a tide-mill, on the 
Long-Island shore. The nearest distance to land was 
about twenty rods. And, doubtless, no other ship in the 



272 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXXL 

British navy ever proved the means of the destruction of 
so many human beings. It is computed that not less than ! 
eleven thousand American seamen perished in her. 

" On the commencement of the first evening, we were | 
driven down to darkness between decks, secured by iron '. 
gratings and an armed soldiery. And now a scene of ' 
horror, which baffles all description, presented itself On 
every side, wretched, 'desponding shapes of men, could i 
be seen. Around the well-room an armed guard were 
forcing the prisoners to the winches, to clear the ship of 
water, and prevent her sinking; and little else could be 
heard but a roar of mutual execrations, reproaches, and 
insults. 

" When I first became an inmate of this abode of suf- 
fering, despair, and death, there were about four hundred 
prisoners on board ; but in a short time they amounted to 
twelve hundred. And in proportion to our numbers, the 
mortality increased. 

" All the most deadly diseases were pressed into the 
service of the king of terrors; but his prime-ministers 
were dysentery, small-pox, and yellow fever. There 
were two hospital ships near to the old Jersey ; but these 
were soon so crowded with the sick, that they could re- 
ceive no more. The consequence was that the diseased 
and the healthy were mingled together in the main ship. 
In a short time, we had two hundred or more sick and 
dying, lodged in the fore part of the lower gun-deck, 
where all the prisoners were confined at night. 

" Utter derangement was a common symptom of yellow 
fever; and to increase the horror of the darkness that 
shrouded us, (for we were allowed no light betwixt decks,) 
the voice of warning would be heard, ' Take heed to your- 
selves; there is a madman stalking through the ship with 
a knife in his hand,' I sometimes found the man a corpse 
in the morning by whose side I laid myself down at night. 

" While so many were sick with raging fever, there 
was a loud cry for water; but none could be had, except 
on the upper deck, and but one allowed to ascend at a 
time. The suffering then from the rage of thirst, during 
the night, was very great. Nor was it at all times safe 
to attempt to go up. Provoked by the continual cry for 
leave to ascend, when there was aheady one on deck, the 
sentry would thrust them back with his bayonet. By one 



niSTORY.~1780. 273 

of these thrusts, which was more spiteful and violent than 
common, I had a narrow escape of my life. 

" In the morning, the hatchways were thrown open ; and 
we were allowed to ascend, all at once, and remain on the 
upper deck duringtheday. But the first object that metour 
view, in the morning, was a most appalling spectacle, — a 
boat loaded with dead bodies, conveying them to the Long- 
Island shore, where they were very slightly covered with 
sand. I sometimes used to stand to count the number of 
times the shovel was filled with sand to cover a dead body. 
And certain I am that a few high tides or torrents of rain, 
must have disinterred them. And had they not been re- 
moved, I should suppose the shore, even now, would be 
covered with huge piles of the bones of American seamen. 

" There is one palliating circumstance, as to the inhu- 
manity of the British, which ought to be mentioned. The 
prisoners were fu7-nished with buckets and brushes, to 
cleanse the ship, and with vinegar to sprinkle her, inside. 
But their indolence and despair were such that they would 
not use them, or but rarely. And, indeed, at this time, 
the encouragement to do it, was small. For the whole 
ship, from her keel to the tafferel, was equally infected, 
and contained pestilence sufficient to desolate a world; 
disease and death were wrought into her very timbers." 

" If there was any principle among the prisoners that 
could not be shaken, it was the love of their country. I 
knew no one to be seduced into the British service. They 
attempted to force one of our prize brig's crew into the 
navy ; but he chose rather to die than perform any duty, 
and he was again restored to the prison-ship." 

SEC. V.-EVENTS OF 1780 AND 1781. 

Reading Lesson CXXIL 

Rctu7-n of general Clinton to Neio York. — The success 
of Clinton's expedition to South Carolina, left him at lib- 
erty to depute lord Cornwallis to the command in that 
region, with instructions to finish the subjugation of the 
province. Clinton himself, with his troops, returned, early 
in June, to his former position in New York, where, as 
the main operations of the American army were, at that 
time, conducted farther to the south, he received little 
molestation. 



274 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXXII. 

Devastations committed hy Johnson and the Indians. — 
About midsummer, a body of tories, aided by Brandt and 
his Indians, laid waste the district of Canajoharie. Sir 
John Johnson, with his Indian followers, attacked and 
burned Schoharie, and, on the 18th of October, destroyed 
Caughnawaga, devastated the whole valley of the Scho- 
harie creek, and thence proceeded up the north side of 
the Mohawk ; burning and destroying the property of the 
inhabitants, wherever he passed. 

Defeat of colonel Brown. — General Van Rensselaer, who 
commanded in this district, gave orders to colonel Brown, 
to draw out the militia, and withstand the invading force. 
But Johnson's troops greatly exceeded in numbers; and 
colonel Brown, with a considerable body of his men, fell, 
in their unsuccessful attempt. 

Johnson takes post among the Mohaivhs. — Johnson hav- 
ing strengthened the fortified village — or castle, as it was 
called — of the Mohawks, by a breastwork thrown across 
a neck of land, stationed there his regiment of regulars 
and tories : his Indians were posted on a height, in an 
adjacent wood. General Van Rensselaer attacked and 
drove out the Indians, who fled towards the Susquehanna. 
But Johnson's own command kept their opponents at bayv 
till night, when they made a speedy retreat, and effected' 
their escape. 

Humanity appears to have formed no part of the creed' 
of Sir John Johnson. It seems hardly credible that a hu-i 
man being could have been found capable of perpetrating 
the atrocities in which this so-called nohleman was, for 
successive years, engaged, hounding on the savages oi 
the forest against the inoffensive people of his own na-J 
tive region. The British veterans, inured to the hor- 
rors of systematized war, might plead their accustomed 
habits, in justification of their deeds of destruction. But 
no such apology could be made for him who voluntarily 
relinquished the ease and comfort of a wealthy landholder i 
for the life of the camp, and who, knowing well the fero- j 
cious habits of the Indian race, could deliberately lead 
them to their inhuman acts of havoc, against his former 
friends and neighbors. 



HISTORY.— 1780. 275 



Reading Lesson CXXIII. 



Treason of Arnold. — The year 1780 was marked by one 
event which forms the only instance of treason recorded 
against an officer of the American army. Arnold, in the 
early part of the war, had, on many occasions, distin- 
guished himself by his intrepidity and devotedness, in the 
cause of his country ; but, during his stay in Philadelphia, 
when in command there, after the evacuation of that city 
by the British, be had given way to indulgence in exti-av- 
agance and dissipation, and even to dishonorable expedi- 
ents for obtaining money. He had, on the last-mentioned 
ground, been tried and found guilty ; but, in consideration 
of his former services, was only subjected to a formal 
reprimand by the commander-in-chief. Stung by con- 
scious guilt, degraded in public estimation, bankrupt in 
circumstances, and burning with the desire of vengeance, 
he formed, it would seem, the base determination of be- 
traying the cause of his country. 

In this state of feeling, he cast his eye upon the com- 
mand of West Point, as a station which would enable 
hira to make good terms with the enemy ; and pleading 
the well-known fact of his severe wounds, as disabling 
him from more active service, he solicited, and, not with- 
out difficulty, arising from his tarnished character, ob- 
tained the post. 

During Washington's absence, he had opened a cor- 
respondence with the British commander, through major 
Andre, acting adjutant-general. His overtures were, as 
might be expected, gladly received ; and as such work 
required the aid of secret personal interviews to complete 
it, Andre was furnished with the requisite passports to 
enable him to come and go on the errand of treason. 
The design was approaching near to its execution, when 
it was frustrated, on the morning of the 23d of Septem- 
ber, by the patriotism and fidelity of a patrolling party 
of Americans, who arrested Andre, on his return from an 
interview with Arnold. 

Capture of major Andre. — The party had, at first, al- 
lowed Andre to pass. But a suspicion having arisen in 
their minds, that all was not right, Andre was recalled and 
examined. He allowed himself to be entiapped by an 
admission that he was on his way to the British camp. 



276 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXXIIL 

His passport, under the feigned name of Andersen, seemed 
correct. But appearances being still unsatisfactory to 
his captors, he was searched ; and in his boot was found 
the description of the fort, and other memorandums con- 
nected with the fatal agreement. 

Andre now attempted to work on the fidelity of the 
Americans, by the offer of his gold watch, and of farther 
remuneration, as a bribe, to induce them to set him fiee. 
The offer was rejected with scorn. But he was unfortu- 
nately allowed to despatch a warning note to Arnold, an- 
nouncing his capture ; by which means the traitor was 
enabled to make a seasonable escape. The unfortunate 
Andre was then marched within the American lines, and 
given up to the proper officer. The honest men who 
performed this important service to their country, were 
John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van Wert : 
They were afterwards rewarded, by congress, with pen- 
sions, and with medals commemorative of their integrity 
and patriotism. 

Andre's trial. — The circumstances in which Andre hadi 
been arrested, subjected him to trial as a spy. General ■■ 
Washington who had ari'ived on the 25th, and received \ 
intelligence of the circumstances, anxious to preserve the ^ 
strictest justice in the proceeding, allowed the prisoner the 
full benefit of his brevet rank, and assigned the case to ai 
board of general officers, among whom were major-general 1 
Gi-eene,lord Stirling, Lafayette, baron Steuben, and others., 

" Major Andre was examined before them, and the par-- 
ticulars of his case inquired into ; and they reported to the 
American commander-in-chief, that major Andre came on 
shore from the Vulture sloop-of-war, in the night, on an 
interview with general Arnold, in a private and secret; 
manner; that he changed his dress within the American 
lines ; and, under a feigned name, and in a disguised habit, , 
passed the American works at Stony and Verplanck's? 
Points, on the evening of the 22d of September; that he 
was taken on the morning of the 23d, at Tarrytown, he 
being then on his way to New York ; and that, when i 
taken, he had in his possession several papers which con- 
tained intelligence for the enemy. — They therefore de- 
termined, that he ought to be considered as a spy from 
the enemy ; and that, agreeably to the law and usage of 
nations, he ought to suffer death. 



HISTORY.— 1781. 277' 

Fate of Andre. — " Sir Henry Clinton, lieutenant-general 
Ilobertson, and the late American general, Arnold, all wrote 
pressing letters, — the latter threatening ones, — to general 
Washington on the occasion, in order to prevent the deci- 
sion of the board of general officers from being put in 
force ; but their applications were ineffectual. Major 
Andre was hanged at Tappan, on the 2d of October, 1780. 
He met his fate with great firmness, but appeared some- 
what hurt that he was not allowed a military form of death, 
for which he had solicited. 

Opinions respecting Andrews sentence. — " Major Andre 
was a gentleman of very amiable qualities, had a taste for 
literature and the fine arts, and possessed many accomplish- 
ments. His death, therefore, was regretted even by his 
enemies ; and the seeming severity of the determination 
concerning him, was much exclaimed against in Great 
Britain. It was, however, generally acknowledged by 
impartial persons, that there was nothing in the execution 
of this unfortunate gentleman but what was perfectly con- 
Bonant to the rules of war." 

Reading Lesson CXXIV. 

Arnold's justification of himself — " Arnold was, in ac- 
cordance with his bargain, made a brigadier-general in 
the king's service, and published an address to the inhabi- 
tants of America, dated at New York, October 7th, in 
which he endeavored to justify his desertion of their cause. 
He said, that when he first engaged in it, he conceived 
the rights of his country to be in danger, and that duty and 
honor called him to her defence. A redress of grievances 
was his only aim and object ; and therefore he acquiesced 
unwillingly in the declaration of independence, because 
he thought it precipitate. But, what now^ induced him to 
desert their cause, was the disgust he had conceived at the 
French alliance, and at the refusal of congress to comply 
with the last terms offered by Great Britain, which he 
thought equal to all their expectations, and to all their 
wishes. 

Facts respecting Arnold. — " The Americans, however, 
accounted for the conduct of Arnold, in a different and in 
a more probable and satisfactory manner. They alleged 
that he had so involved himself in debts and difficulties by 



278 NEVV-VORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXXV. 

Ills extravagant manner of living, that he had rendered it 
very inconvenient for him to continue there ; that after the 
evacuation of Philadelphia by the British troops, Arnold, 
being invested with the command in that city, had made 
the house of Mr. Penn, which was the best in the city, his 
head quarters. This he had furnished in an elegant and 
expensive manner, and lived in a style far beyond his in- 
come. 

" It was manifest, they said, that he could, at first, have 
no great aversion to the French alliance, because that when 
M. Gerard, minister plenipotentiary from the court of 
France, arrived at Philadelphia, in July, 1778, general 
Arnold early and eai'nestly solicited that minister, with 
his whole suite, to take apartments at his house, until a 
proper one could be provided by order of congress. 
This offer M. Gerard accepted, and continued with him 
some weeks. 

" The French minister resided upwards of fourteen 
months in Philadelphia ; dui'ing which time general Ar- 
nold kept up a most friendly and intimate acquaintance 
with him, and there was a continual interchange of din- 
ners, balls, routs, and concerts : so that M. Gerard must 
have believed, that in general Arnold he had found and 
left one of the' warmest friends the court of France had in 
America. He was also one of the first in congratulating 
the chevalier De la Luzerne, the second French min- 
ister." 

Such are the remarks of Dr. Williams, on the character 
and conduct of Arnold. The baffled traitor was after- 
wards employed by the British commander, on maraud- 
ing expeditions against the inhabitants of the coast of 
Virginia, and against New London, which he conducted 
in the true spirit of a renegade bent on revenge, destruc- 
tion, and plunder. 

He died in England, disliked and shunned by the 
officers of the British army, and unsustained by any sym- 
pathy with the traitoi'ous act which now covers his name 
with infamy. 

Reading Lesson CXXV. 

Continued hostilities in the interior. — In the early part 
of the year 1781, the hostile force of mingled tories, Cana- 
dians, and Indians, continued to harass the interior of 



HISTORY.— 1781. 279 

the state. Several of the garrison of fort Schuyler, were 
captured by them ; and, for a time, it was feared that the 
place would fall into their hands. But major Fish, by 
great efforts, succeeded in relieving it. 

This post, so important to the safety of the surround- 
ing country, was held, in the month of July, by another 
brave citizen of New York, an early leader in the cause 
of liberty, colonel Mai-inus Willet. A party oftories and 
Indians were, at this time, ravaging the Mohawk valley, 
and had dared to burn a village, not far from Schenectady. 
Colonel Willet, with his accustomed vigilance, had ascer- 
tained their numbers and direction, and, taking advan- 
tage of a dark night, drew out a party of his men, and 
proceeded to the enemy's camp, situated in a swamp in 
Cherry Valley. When near to the spot, he was oppor- 
tunely joined by a band of thirty men, under major 
McKean. The united force reached the swamp about 
daybreak. 

Colonel Willet disposed his men in two parallel lines, 
concealed behind intervening trees. Two men were then 
despatched, as a decoy, to show themselves to the enemy, 
and immediately I'etreat between the lines, as if unex- 
pectedly discovered. The ruse was successful. The In- 
dians came on fiercely, in pursuit, and, falling into the 
ambuscade, were received with a destructive fire. The 
survivors, then attempting to screen themselves behind 
the surrounding trees, were driven out, at the point of 
the bayonet, and pursued through their own camp towards 
the Susquehanna. 

Encounter at Johnson hall. — Colonel Willet again dis- 
tinguished himself, in a successful battle, with the same 
species offeree, in the vicinity of Johnson hall, the man- 
sion of the distinguished family of that name. A British 
officer, major Ross, had encamped, with a body of six 
hundred British, Canadian, tory, and Indian troops, not 
far from the hall, and about a mile from the village of 
Johnstown. 

Colonel Willet, on the 22d of August, marched from 
his post, with a party of three hundred men, for the pur- 
pose of attacking the enemy's camp. To facilitate his 
design, he detached colonel Harper, with a hundred men, 
to make a circuit, and fall on the enemy's rear. 

The British commander, having learned that a body of 



280 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXXV. 

Americans was approaching, drew out his whole force, to 
meet them ; and the overwhelming number thus brought 
to bear on the diminished party of colonel Willet, suc- 
ceeded, notwithstanding his brave efforts to rally them, in 
driving them back upon the hall, and, subsequently, the 
villao-e. Here, a reinforcement of militia, amounting to 
two hundred men, restored the fate of the day ; and 
colonel Harper having now commenced his attack on the 
enemy's I'ear, they were soon broken and utterly routed. 

The pursuit was briskly kept up, for miles, by the 
American troops. The savage Butler, who had, for years, 
spread devastation and terror among the peaceful inhab- 
itants of that region, here met his merited fate. The 
Oneida Indians had, ere this, adopted a different policy 
from that of the other tribes of the Indian confederacy, 
and joined cause with the American people. A party of 
Oneidas had, on the present occasion, taken the lead in 
puisuit of the enemy's retreating force ; and one of their 
warriors signalized himself by the death of the merciless 
foe of the American settlers. 

Butler, well mounted, had swum his horse over West 
Canada creek, and, having reached the bank in safety, 
turned, and defied his pursuers. The Oneida Indian, 
mentioned above, had followed so closely, as to be on the 
bank, opposite to Butler, at that moment. Raising his 
rifle, he fired, and brought Butler to the ground. " Then," 
says Mr. Campbell,* in his account of the battle, " throw- 
ing down his rifle and blanket, the Indian plunged into 
the creek, and swam across," "raised his tomahawk, and, 
with a yell, sprang like a tiger, upon his fallen foe." But- 
ler, though disabled, still retained strength enough to 
supplicate for mercy, — but in vain. The Oneida, remind- 
ing him of his own merciless massacre of others, screamed 
out the words " Cherry Valley !" as he drove the deadly 
tomahawk into his brain. 

Perplexities of Sir Henry Clinton. — The embarrassed 
situation of the British army under Cornwallis in Vir- 
ginia, rendered general Clinton extremely desirous of 
detaching what aid to him he could spare. But Washing- 
ton continuing encamped at White Plains, and threaten- 

* See his History of Tryon county, — a work rich in interest, and full 
of instruction regarding the scenes and times on -which we are now 
dwelling. 



niSTORY.-1782. 281 

ing a descent upon the city of New York, the moment 
that any troops should be withdrawn from it, the British 
commander was forced to confine himself to his position, 
so as to avoid hazarding the loss of a place so important, 
as a centre of operations for the armies and fleets of 
Great Britain. 

Arnold'' s expedition against New London. — To induce 
Washington to weaken his force by detaching a part of 
it, Clinton sent out the traitor Arnold on one of those 
ravaging expeditions, so disgraceful to the British name 
and arms. The party was dii'ected to attack and destroy 
New London, in Connecticut ; and the errand was faith- 
fully performed by the wanton burning of private as well 
as public property, to a vast amount, although the town 
was Arnold's own native place. 

Withdrawal of the American army from 'White Plains. — 
Washington, however, was not induced to divert his atten- 
tion from his plan of operation, which was now decided ; 
and, still keeping Clinton on the alert for an attempt of 
the American army on New York, he did oot withdraw 
from White Plains till the position of Cornwallis, at 
Yorktown, induced him to proceed thither, with the army, 
for the purpose of securing the capture of Cornwallis 
and his troops, — a result, which, to the unbounded joy 
of America, was effected on the 19th of October, and vir- 
tually ensured the termination of the war. 

Movements of Sir Henry Clinton. — Aware, at last, of 
Washington's actual purpose, and of the exU'emities to 
which Cornwallis was reduced, general Clinton left New 
York with a powerful reinforcement, and arrived at the 
mouth of the Chesapeake, five days too late for his pur- 
pose. Hearing of the surrender of Cornwallis, he returned 
immediately to New Yoi'k, whither he was, ere long, fol- 
lowed by Washington, who resumed his head quarters on 
the Hudson. 

sec. vi. — events of 1782 and 1783. 

Reading Lesson CXXVI. 

Prospect of peace. — The year with which we commence 
our present section, opens a new era^ equally in our na- 
tional and local history. The American war had becomo 
exceedingly unpopular in England ; and the parliament 



282 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXXVI. 

bad, in the month of Maixh, of this year, passed a formal 
resolve, declaring the prosecution of the war injurious to 
the true interests of the nation. 

Arrival of Sir Guy Carleton. — Early in the month of 
May, of this year, Sir Guy Carleton, who had been ap- 
pointed successor to Sir Henry Clinton, and who had re- 
ceived instructions to favor an accommodation with the 
United States, arrived at New York, and proceeded to 
the duties of his appointment. 

Inaction of the opposite armies. — There could, of course,' 
be no forma] cessation of hostilities, between the American 
and British armies, till peace should be regularly pro- 
claimed. But the issue of affairs was now too plainly in- 
telligible, to leave room for any serious purpose of a hostile 
nature, on either side. We find, accordingly, that, with 
the exception of a few insignificant skirmishes, the con- 
tending armies abstained from active movements, and re- 
stricted themselves to mere measures of precaution and 
vigilance. 

Preliminary articles ofjyeace. — On the 30th of Novem-i 
ber, 1782, the commissioners of Great Britain and thei 
United States signed, at Paris, the preliminary articles; 
of peace between the two countries. 

Discontents in the army. — The embarrassed condition 
of the country, had compelled congress to defer the pay- 
ment of large sums due to the army ; and the apprehen-i 
sion was now general, among the troops, that their just 
claims, if left to be settled by a future congress, would be 
entirely neglected. The officers of the army shared this 
impression equally with the soldiery; and so irritated had 
the minds of all become, that irregular meetings of dele- 
gates from the various grades, were appointed, and anony- 
mous addresses circulated, calling on the army to bestir 
themselves, on their own behalf, and to take such measures; 
as should enforce attention to their rights. 

The head-quarters at Newburg were the scene of theset 
proceedings ; and nothing but the prudence, mildness, and 
firmness of Washington could, at this crisis, have prevented: 
the American army from proceeding to extremities. On 
the 15th of March, he addressed the^assembled oflBcers, in 
a most impressive and eloquent appeal, admitting their 
grievances, but imploring them not to stain their well- 
earnfed fame, by any indiscretion which should wrest from 



HISTORY.— 1783. 283 

them the meint of that triumph which was now so nearly- 
attained. He assured them that congress would not fail 
honorahly to redeem all its promises, and pledged him- 
self to use every personal exertion which might faciHtate 
the adjustment of all demands coming from an army en- 
deared to him by their common experience of so many 
vicissitudes, amidst which they had constantly adhered to 
him. 

The effect of this address was to quiet the minds of all, 
to call foith once more the better feelings of the army, to- 
wards their country's cause, to revive the confidence of 
the troops in the justice of congress, and to elicit the 
strongest expressions of regard and attachment towards 
the commander-in-chief. 

Definitive treaty of peace. — On the 3d of September, 
1783, the definitive treaties of peace were signed by the 
commissioners of England, and those of the United States, 
France, Spain, and Holland. By the treaty between Eng- 
land and the United States, the entire independence of 
the latter was recognized and acknowledged. Thus the 
struggle which the American colonies had commenced 
against an unjust assertion of power, on the part of Eng- 
land, issued in the birth of a new Tiation, which has not 
only assumed, but nobly maintained its position, as sover- 
eign and independent. Nor has any countiy on the globe, 
within the same period of time, made equal advances in 
power and prosperity. 

The cessation of hostilities proclaimed. — The cessation 
of hostilities was proclaimed in the American army, on the 
19th of April, — the eighth anniversary of the battle of 
Lexington, the first encounter in the struggle between 
England and her colonies. 

General Washington^ s tour in the state of Neio York. — 
By the month of July, " many of the troops," says Mr. 
Sparks, in his life of Washington, " went home on fui-- 
lough ; and general Washington having little to do in 
camp, till the arrival of the definitive treaty, resolved to 
employ the interval in making a tour to the northward, 
for the double purpose of gi-atifying his curiosity, in visit- 
ing the scenes of the late military operations in that quar- 
ter, and of ascertaining, from observation, the natural re- 
sources of the country. In company with governor Clin- 
ton, he ascended the Hudson to Albany, and proceeded 



284 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSOxN CXXVII. 

thence over the battle-fields of Saratoga, as far as Ticon- 
deroga and Crown Point. Turning then to the Mohawk 
river, he extended his journey westward to fort Schuyler. 
— He was absent from Newburg nineteen days. i 

"Ever regarding the condition and affairs of his country 
on a comprehensive scale, and fixing his thoughts on its 
importance as a nation, he saw, while on his tour, the im- 
mense advantafjes that would result from a water commu-l 
nication between the Hudson and the great lakes, and! 
believed in its practicability. His hopes and his anticipa- 
tions have since been realized in the magnificent M'ork, 
opening a passage for boats by a canal from the Hudson I 
to lake Erie, and effected by the enterprise and vvealth of: 
the state of New York. 

Dishanding of the army. — "A large part of the officers 
and soldiers, as mentioned before, had been permitted,, 
during the summer, to retire from the army on furlough;; 
and congress issued a proclamation, on the iSth of Octo-- 
ber, discharging them from farther service, and all others ■* 
who had been enoraored to serve durino^ the war. TheJ 
army was thus, in effect, disbanded. A small force only/l 
was retained, consisting of such troops as had been en-' 
listed for a definite time, till the peace establishment: 
should be organized. 

" This proclamation was followed by general Washing-- 
ton's farewell address to the ai'my, expressing his cordial 1 
and affectionate thanks for the devotedness of the officers-! 
and soldiers to him through the war, and for the manner: 
in which they had discharged their duty ; adding also 
seasonable advice as to their conduct in resuming the' 
character of private citizens, and in contributing to the 
support of civil government." 

Reading Lesson CXXVII. 

Preparati 071S for evacuating New York. — "At length Sir' 
Guy Carleton received orders from the ministry to evac- 
uate New York, and gave notice to general Washington 
that he should soon be ready for that event. Delay had ! 
been occasioned by the want of transports, in sufficient ! 
numbers, to send to Nova Scotia the refugees who had 
sought protection in New York, during the war, and the 
large amount of goods, stores, and military supplies, which 



HISTORY.— 1783. 285 

had accumulated in that city. Many of these persons 
would gladly have remained in the country, having prop- 
erty which they desired to recover, and relatives and 
friends whom they were reluctant to abandon ; but they 
were exiled by the laws of the states, and could not be 
admitted to the privileges of a residence till these laws 
were repealed. 

Washington tahes possession of New York. — "Washing- 
ton repaired to West Point, to which place general Knox 
had drawn the troops that still remained in the service. 
Arrangements were made, with governor Clinton, the 
chief-magistrate of the state of New York, by which the 
city was to be delivered into his charge. A detachment 
of troops marched from West Point to Harlem, and was 
joined there by general Washington and governor Clin- 
ton. In the morning of the 25th of November, they ad- 
vanced to the upper part of the city, where they continued 
till one o'clock, when the British parties retired from the 
posts in that quartei", and were followed by the American 
infantry and artillery, preceded by a corps of dragoons. 
Meantime, the British troops embarked. Possession being 
thus taken of the city, the military officers, and the civil 
officers of the state, made a public entry. The general 
and governor rode at the head of the procession, on horse- 
back. Then came, in regular succession, the lieutenant- 
governor and members of the council, general Knox, and 
the officers of the army, the speaker of the assembly, and 
citizens. They were escorted by a body of Westchester 
light-horse, as a compliment to the governor and civil au- 
thority ; the continental military jurisdiction being sup- 
posed to have ceased, or, at least, to have been suspended, 
in deference to the civil power of the state. Governor 
Clinton gave a public entertainment, with which the trans- 
actions of the day were closed. Perfect order and quiet 
prevailed from the beginning to the end ; and no unto- 
ward incident occurred to mar the interest of an occasion, 
which had been so long wished for, and was so joyfully 
welcomed. 

General Washington's last meeting toitli the officers. — 

I" A trial of feeling now awaited the commander-in-chief, 

which, for the moment, was more severe and painful, than 

any he had been called to bear. The time had arrived, 

when he was to bid a final adieu to his companions in 



286 NEVV-VORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXXVIt. 

arms, to many of whom he was bound by the strongest 
ties of friendship, and for all of whom he felt a lively 
gratitude and sincere regard." 

" This affecting interview," says chief-justice Marshall, 
in his life of Washington, " took place on the 4th of De- 
cember. At noon, the principal officers of the army 
assembled at Frances's tavern, soon after which their be- 
loved commander entered the room. His emotions were 
too strong to be concealed. Filling a glass, he turned to 
them and said, ' AVith a heart full of love and gratitude, I 
now take leave of you : I most devoutly wish that your 
latter days may be as prosperous and happy, as your 
former ones have been slorious and honorable.' Havinsf 
drunk, he added, ' I cannot come to each of you to take 
my leave, but shall be obliged if each of you will come 
and take me by the hand.' General Knox being neai-- 
est, turned to him. Washington, incapable of utterance, 
grasped his hand, and embraced him. In the same affec- 
tionate manner, he took leave of each succeeding officer. 
The tear of manly sensibility was in every eye; and not 
a wOrd was articulated to interrupt the dignified silence, 
and the tenderness of the scene. 

" Leaving the room, he passed through the corps of 
light infantry, and walked to White Hall, where a barge 
waited to convey him to Paulus Hook, The whole com- 
pany followed, in mute and solemn procession, with de- 
jected countenances, testifying feelings of delicious mel- 
ancholy, which no language can describe. Having entered 
the barge, he tuined to the company, and, waving his hat, 
bid them a silent adieu. They paid him the same affec- 
tionate compliment; and after the barge had left them, 
returned, m the same solemn manner, to the place where 
they had assembled." 



HISTORY.— 1787. 287 



CHAP. VI. — OCCURRENCES BETWEEN THE 
PEACE OF 1783, AND THE WAR OF 1812. 

sec. i. — events from 1784 to 1795. 

Reading Lesson CXXVHI. 

Defective operation of tlie original confederacy of the 
states. — No sooner had the benign influence of peace 
begun to be felt throughout the country, than the imper- 
fect character of the articles of confederation by which 
the new states were held together, became apparent. 
Congress had no competent authority to assume or dis- 
charge the heavy debt incurred during the revolutionary 
war. The states, individually, though disposed to listen 
to the recommendations of congress, and make every ex- 
ertion for the payment of the public creditors, were not 
in a condition to do so. A universal bankruptcy seemed 
threatening to overwhelm the nation. Nor was any relief 
to be expected from the revival of commerce ; as tliere 
was no general system of operations piacticable, without 
an efficient national government to regulate commercial 
affairs. 

Preparatory steps for tlie formation of a national consti- 
tution. — For several years, the evils of the inadequate or- 
ganization of the federal government, had been felt, and 
loudly complained of, in all quarters. A convention of 
jdelegates from all the states, except one, had been held 
at Philadelphia, in May, 1787, for the purpose of revising 
ihe articles of confederation. But, on investigation, they 
[were found so deficient that the convention relinquished 
;he idea of remodelling them, and pioceeded to draught a 
lew form of constitution. 

i! Adoption of the present constitution of the United States. 
\ — The new constitution was submitted to congress, and 
in the course of the following year, to the people of the 
I'everal states, and, within that time, adopted by nearly all, 
slilthough rather in the spirit of a compromise, than with 
hat of cordial approval. 

Influence of ike writings of Jay and Ha7nilton.— -The 



238 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXXVIIL 

constitution proposed for adoption by the people of the 
United States, was by no means universally welcomed as 
a palladium of the national liberties. It embodied the 
sentiments of communities and parties differing widely in ^ 
opinion and habit, and even, in some respects, in commer- 
cial interests and social institutions. The friends of or- 
der and concord, therefore, looked with no slight degree 
of anxiety, on the prospect 'of its being generally adopted! 
by the states. To aid the desirable result, enlightened 
men, in all parts of the country, exerted themselves to 
the utmost, with a view to influence the general mind to 
a favorable decision. Foremost in this good work were 
those eminent sons of New York, Alexander Hamilton 
and John Jay, whose names were already identified with 
their counti'y's welfare, in so many other relations. In 
conjunction with Mr. Madison, they issued a series of 
able papers, under the designation of the Federalist, 
which had no small share in removing popular prejudices, 
and enlightening public opinion, on the subjects involved 
in the new constitution. No parallel instance, perhaps, 
can be furnished from history, of a people so generally or 
effectually influenced by calm appeals to reason and judg- 
ment, in an affiir affecting the vital prosperity of a nation, 
and demanding the largest concessions from party feeling. 

First election of a president. — Provision had been made, 
in the new constitution, for the election of a president and 
vice-president of the United States. To the former office 
George Washington was unanimously elected, and to the 
latter, John Adams. 

Washington,'' s arrival in Ne?o York, previous to his in- 
auguration, as j)residc'nt of the United States. — On the 4tli 
of March, 1789, the city of New York became, once more, 
the scene of historical events, but of a character widely dif- 
ferent from those of the preceding part of our narrative. 
We are not now called to contemplate the revolting scenes 
of war and suffering, but those of peace and order and na- 
tional happiness. 

"It being known," says Mr. Sparks, "that the choice 
of the people had fallen on general Washington, for pres- 
ident, he made preparations to begin the duties of the 
office as soon as his election should be notified to him by 
the proper authority. The 4th of March was assigned as 
the day for the meeting of congress ; but a quorum did 



HISTORY.-1789. 289 

not come together till a month later. The votes of the 
electors were then opened and counted ; and a special 
messenger was despatched to Mount Vernon, with a let- 
ter, from the president of the senate, to general Washing- 
ton, conveying official intelligence of his election. John 
Adams was, at that time, declared to be chosen vice-presi- 
dent of the United States. Two days after receiving the 
notification, Washington left home for New York, which 
was then the seat of congress. 

Washington's public entry into Neic Yoj-Tc. — " A com- 
mittee of congress, consisting of three members of the 
senate and five of the house of representatives, was ap- 
pointed to meet him in New Jersey, and attend him to the 
city of New York. To Elizabethtown Point came many 
other persons of distinction, and the heads of the several 
departments of government. He was there received in a 
barge, splendidly fitted up for the occasion, and rowed by 
thirteen pilots in white uniforms. . This was followed by- 
vessels and boats, fancifully decorated, and crowded with 
spectators. When the president's barge came near to the 
city, a salute of thirteen guns was fired from the vessels in 
the harbor, and from the Battery. At the landing he was 
again saluted by a discharge of artillery, and was joined 
by the governor and other officers of the state, and the 
corporation of the city. A procession was then formed, 
headed by a long military train, which was followed by 
the principal officers of the state and city, the clergy, for- 
eign ministers, and a great concourse of citizens. The 
procession advanced to the house prepared for the recep- 
tion of the president. The day was passed in festivity and 
jov; and, in the evening, the city was brilliantly illuminated. 
Waskingto7i's inauguj-ation. — " The first public act of the 
president, was that of taking the oath of office. It was de- 
cided by congress, that this should be done with some cere- 
mony. On the morning of the day appointed, April 30th, at 
nine o'clock, religious services, suited to the occasion, were 
performed in all the churches of the city. At twelve, the 
! troops paraded before the president's door, and soon after- 
wards came the committees of congress and the heads of 
departments, in can-iages, to attend him to the Federal 
Hall,* where the two houses of congress were assembled. 

* This building occupied the site of the present custom house, in 
Wall street. 

N 



290 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXXLX. 

The procession moved forward with the troops in front, 
next the committees and heads of departments, then the 
president in a coach, alone, followed by the foreign min- 
isters, civil officers of the state, and citizens. Arrived at 
the hall, he ascended to the senate-chamber, and passed 
thence to a balcony in front of the house, where the oath 
was administered to him, in presence of the people, by 
chancellor Livingston, The president returned to the 
senate-chamber, in the midst of loud acclamations from 
the surrounding' throng of spectators, and delivered to the 
two branches of congress his inaugural speech. He then 
went, on foot, to St. Paul's church, where prayers were 
read by the bishop, and the ceremonies were closed. To- 
kens of joy were everywhere exhibited, as on the day of 
his ariival ; and, at night, there was a display of illumina- 
tions and fireworks." 

Reading Lesson CXXIX. 

Washington's mode of life, as president, in New York. — 
" The president had not been long in New York, before 
he found it necessary to establish rules for receiving visit- 
ors and entertaining company. There being no prece- 
dent to serve as a guide, this was an affair of ccmsiderable 
delicacy and difficulty. In the first place, it was essen- 
tial to maintain the dignity of the office by such forms as 
would inspire deference and respect ; and, at the same 
time, the nature of republican institutions and the habits 
of the people, required the chief magistrate to be acces- 
sible to every citizen, on proper occasions, and for reason- 
able purposes. A just line was therefore to be drawn 
between too much pomp and ceremony, on the one hand, 
and an extreme familiarity, on the other. Regard was 
also to be had to the president's time and convenience. 
After a short experiment of leaving the matter to the 
discretion of the public, it was proved, that, without some 
fixed rule, he would never have an hour at his disposal. 
From breakfast till dinner, his door was besieged with 
persons calling to pay their respects, or to consult him on 
affairs of little moment. His sense of duty to the claims 
of his office and to himself, convinced him that this prac- 
tice could not be endured. The vice-president, Mr. Jay, 
Mr. Madison, Mr. Hamilton, and other gentlemen, con- 



HISTORY.— 1791. 291 

curred in this opinion; and, by their advice, a different 
mode was adopted. 

" Every Tuesday, between the hours of three and four, 
he was prepared to receive such persons as chose to call. 
Foreign ministers, strangers of distinction, and citizens, 
came and went without ceremony. The hour was passed 
in free conversation on promiscuous topics, in which the 
president joined. Every Friday afternoon, the rooms were 
open, in like manner, for visits to Mrs.Washington, which 
were on a still more sociable footing, and at which gen- 
eral Washington was always present. These assemblages 
were in the nature of public levees ; and they did not 
preclude such visits of civility and friendship, between 
the president's family and others, as are customary in 
society. On affairs of business by appointment, whether 
with public officers or private citizens, the president was 
always ready to bestow his time and attention. He ac- 
cepted no invitations to dinner, but invited to his own 
table foreign ministers, officei-s of the government, and 
strangers, in such numbers at once as his domestic estab- 
lishment would accommodate. On these occasions, there 
was neither ostentation nor restraint, but the same sim- 
plicity and ease with which his guests had been enter- 
tained at Mount Vernon. 

" No visits were received on Sunday. In the morning, 
he uniformly attended church ; and, in the afternoon, he 
retired to his private apaitment. The evening was spent 
with his family ; and then an intimate friend would some- 
times call, but promiscuous company was not admitted. 

" Having laid down these general rules, which soon 
became known to the public, he found relief from a heavy 
tax upon his time, and more leisure for a faithful dis- 
charge of his duties." The routine of Washington's daily 
! life and habits, continued the same when the meetings of 
congress were transferred to Philadelphia, as a situation 
more central and convenient for the general business of 
the country. 

sec. ii.— events from 1791 to 1795. 

Reading Lesson. CXXX. 

Terininatlon of disputes with Vermont, regarding terri- 
torial limits. — The want of due information respecting the 



r 



292 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXXX. 

remoter regions of their American colonies, had caused 
the British parliament to pass acts inconsistent with each 
other, and assigning the territory of Vermont both to New 
York and New Hamjsshire. The quarrels ai'ising from 
this source, we have seen, in previous parts of our history, 
occasioning the most serious apprehensions of open vio- 
lence, on both sides. The governor and the legislature of 
New York, were fully determined to assert what they 
deemed their rights, and had, as was formerly mentioned, 
expressed this determination in strong language, to con- 
gress. 

The eloquent appeals of Alexander Hamilton, however, 
had the effect of changing the current of public feeling, 
and bringing about a compromise. With the consent of 
New York, Vermont, as a state, was incoi-porated into the 
national union, in the year 1791. 

'Progress of the state of New York. — The happy effects 
of a state of peace were now universally felt, throughout 
the state of New York. Its vast and fertile interior was 
rapidly filled up with a hardy, intelligent, and active im- 
migrant population, which was attracted chiefly from the 
New-England states, but interspersed with agriculturists 
and adventurers from all countries which have hitherto 
poured their sujplus of life and enterprise into the United 
States. 

Our pages being chiefly designed for young readers, we 
decline dwelling on that portion of our local history which 
consists of events merely political ; and, as our aim is to 
furnish an instructive reading-book, selected from all 
sources of interesting information regarding the condition 
and character of our state, rather than to furnish its his- 
tory in detail, we shall dwell on such topics only as are 
prominent and important. 

Many interesting particulars we have resei'ved to be in- 
terwoven with the biographical sketches of eminent per- 
sons, which occur in subsequent pages ; and some will be 
found interspersed with our accounts of public institu- 
tions. 

The peaceful times in which a community is most pros- 
perous, are those with regard to which the allusion was 
so justly made, " Happy is that people whose annals are 
written in sand !" Monumental sculptures and inscrip- 
tions, and the classic records of history, are too exclu- 



HISTORY.— IfiCl. 293 

sively occupied with the dire events of War and destruc- 
tion. 

A happier day, it is to be hoped, is already dawning 
on the world, — a day when the peaceful progress of arts, 
science, literature, public and private virtue, and genuine 
prosperity, shall furnish the main themes of the historian. 
But the past, even to our own time, is yet overshadowed 
by the evil passions and evil deeds of man, registered in 
characters of bloodshed and havoc ; and a knowledge of 
the past is necessarily, to a great extent, the knowledge 
of ill. 

The fair scenes of our own beautiful region of the earth, 
have, again and again, been shrouded in the dark atmo- 
sphere of war. Three tempests of destruction have, in 
turn, swept over them. Two of these, we have tracked 
along their shifting paths of desolation. The " French 
war" rendered the border life of the early pioneers amid 
the receding wilderness of New York, a scene of cease- 
less peril and suffering, — when every man's life might be 
said, as of old, to be " in his hand." The revolutionary 
war ravaged, for successive years, the previous abodes of 
peace and plenty, and set even neighbors and kindred at 
deadly strife. The whirlwind of European war, raised, 
i in the early part of the present century, by the evil genius 
of Napoleon, drew America into its vortex ; and in the 
second strife against the arrogance of England, the border 
region of New York was, once more, laid open to the in- 
roads of hostile force, and all the attendant calamities of 
warfare, or became the theatre of preparation, whence 
they were to be launched on the adjoining provinces of 
Britain. 

sec. hi.— events from 1795 to 1812. 
Reading Lesson CXXXI. 

Election of John Jaij, as governor. — At the state election 
of the year 1795, the office of governor was, by the choice 
of the people, conferred upon John Jay, who was expect- 
ed soon to return from England, whither he had been sent, 
as envoy extraordinary, to adjust the treaty which bears 
his name. Mr. Jay continued in office till the year 1801, 
iwhen he declined a reelection, and retired to private life. 

At the election of 1801, George Clinton was induced, 



294 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXXXL 

once more accepted the office of governor, which he had 
so long and so ably filled before ; and in this station he 
continued for three years, when, having been chosen vice- 
president of the United States, he relinquished the former 
office, and took up his residence in the city of Washing- 
ton. 

Governor Leiois. — In 1804, the office of governor was 
conferred on Morgan Lewis, son of a signer of the Decla- 
ration of Independence. Governor Lewis had, in early 
life, served with distinction, in the revolutionary army, in 
the northern part of the state, but subsequently relin- 
quished the military life, and adopted the profession of 
law, in which he attained the highest honors. At the 
time of his election, he was chief-justice of the supreme 
court of New York. 

Governor Tompkins. — In 1807, the election fell on Daniel 
D. Tompkins, a member of the convention, in 1801, for 
revising the state constitution, subsequently, a representa- 
tive in congress, and a judge of the supreme court of New 
York. Mr. Tompkins continued in office, till his resigna- 
tion in 1817, in consequence of his election as vice-pres- 
ident of the United States. 

It was during the incumbency of governor Tompkins, '■ 
that the second war between the United States and Great 
Britain was begun and terminated. During the period | 
of this war, New York, from its proximity to the British 
provinces of Canada, became, once more, the theatre of 
military operations. 

War of V^Vl. — For a full account of the origin of this 
war, we refer our readers to the general history of the 
country. It may suffice, here, to say, that the grievances 
which induced congress to declare war against Britain, 
were the encroachments upon American commerce by 
the British " orders in council," and the impressment of 
American seamen. 

The former of these aggressions may be briefly stated 
thus. England, being at war with France, had, in the 
year 1806, declared the whole coast of continental Eu- 
rope, from Brest to the Elbe, in a state of blockade. 
Bonaparte retaliated by declaring the British isles under 
blockade. The commerce of America with Europe was 
thus vii-tually annihilated. In 1808 followed the British 
orders in council, prohibiting all trade wdth France and 



i 



HISTORY.— 1812. 295 

her allies, — a plain violation of the law of nations. Bona- 
parte, who, when engaged in war, was seldom troubled 
with conscientious scruples, regarding national rights, 
retaliated by his " Milan decree," forbidding all commer- 
cial intercourse with England and her allies. 

Congi'ess, reacting on both the European contending 
powers, decreed an embargo, in 1808 ; but, as no recog- 
nition of the national rights was obtained by the measure, 
it was repealed, in 1809, and all commerce interdicted 
with either of the offending nations. 

In November, 1810, Bonaparte revoked his restrictions 
on American commerce. But England continued hers ; 
and the better to enforce them, actually stationed her 
ships of war before the principal ports of the Union, to 
intercept communication. 

The public mind, throughout the Union, was highly 
irritated by these gross violations of the rights of neutral 
nations, and still more exasperated by the aggressive con- 
duct of England, in frequently impressing American sea- 
men into her naval service, without the least regard to 
remonstrance or protest, and sometimes, in face of direct 
evidence of citizenship, on the part of the injured seamen. 

In April, 1812, an embargo, for ninety days, was de- 
creed, on all vessels within the jurisdiction of the United 
States ; and, in the month of June, war was formally de- 
clared against Great Britain. 



CHAP. VII.— PERIOD OF THE WAR OF 1812. 

SEC. I. — EVENTS OP 1812 AND 1813. 

Reading Lesson CXXXII. 

Attack on Queenstown. — The first military operation of 
the year, on the frontier of New York, was the attack on 
Queenstown, by a body of militia, under the command of 
general Stephen Van Rensselaer. On the morning of the 
13th of October, a detachment of two hundred and twenty- 
five men, under colonel Solomon Van Rensselaer, crossed 



296 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXXXIL 

the Niagara, and, after some resistance, in which the colo- 
nel was wounded, gained a small battery on the heights. 
Notwithstanding the unexpected arrival of general Brock, 
with a reinforcement of several hundred men, the post 
was held, the enemy repulsed, and their general killed, 
by a party under captain (now general) Wool. 

Thus far, the success of the Americans was complete. 
But, unfortunately for ihem, a powerful reinforcement 
from fort George, came to the aid of the British, in the 
afternoon; and the reserve of the American troops being 
unwilling to cross the river, to the aid of their country- 
men, the gallant storming party, and those who did cross 
to their assistance, were overwhelmed by the superior 
force of the enemy ; and nearly all were either killed or 
taken prisoners. 

A universal feeling of indignation was uttered, through- 
out the country, against the conduct of the militia, in this 
instance ; and, unquestionably, the reluctance to go to the 
rescue of their countrymen in a situation of peril, seemed 
a feeling utterly unworthy of those who had assumed the 
duties and character of soldiers. But the people, in dis- 
tant parts of the Union, could form no just idea of the- 
repugnance which men, some of whom were natives of] 
the very border, felt at hostilities against the inhabitants of j 
a neighboring region, with some of whom they had been ' 
on terms of personal intimacy and friendship. The nat-i 
ural law of kindness in the human heart, will rise above' 
the arbitrary rules of war, or the local lines of patriotism. 
Attack on Toronto. — In the northern campaign of 1813, 
general Dearborn embarked, on the 25th of April, with a i 
force of seventeen hundred men, at Sackett's harbor, for! 
the purpose of capturing the British stores at York, — now ' 
Toronto. The landing was successfully effected, in spite 
of the enemy's resistance, and the assault bravely con- 
ducted by general Pike, when, during the advancing move- ' 
ment, the magazine blew up, killing and wounding sev- ' 
eral hundred men, and among the latter, the commanding 
officer, who did not long survive. The American troops, 
however, soon rallied, and carried the place, together with 
a large amount of baggage and public property ; the British 
general and his regular force escaping with much diffi- 
culty. 

Attach hy the British, on Sackctfs Jiarbor. — The Ameri- 



HISTORY.— 1813. 297 

can squadron having returned to Sackett's harbor, set sail, 
soon after, for the Niagara frontier ; and the British, taking 
advantage of this moment, proceeded to Sackett's harbor. 
They landed, for this purpose, a force of a thousand men, 
under Sir George Prevost. The small body of American 
regulars made an efficient resistance to the enemy's ap- 
proach ; and general Brown, meanwhile, rallied the mili- 
tia, which, at first, had given way, and marched them to- 
wards the landing. Sir George, apprehending this move- 
ment as designed to cut off his retreat, withdrew, in great 
haste, to the boats. 

Successful attack hy the Americans, on fort George. — On 
the same day that the British were repulsed from Sackett's 
harbor, the American expedition made its attack on fort 
George, which was speedily taken. 

Capture of generals Chandler and Winder. — The Brit- 
ish troops which had relinquished fort George, were 
closely pursued by the Americans. On the night of the 
6th of June, however, they attempted an attack on the 
American camp, in which, although they were repulsed, 
they were so far successful as to capture, amid the dark- 
ness and confusion of the moment, the brave generals 
Chandler and Winder. 

\ Unsuccessful attempt on Mo7itreal, — General Armstrong, 

iyho had recently been appointed secretary of war, had 

ibrmed the plan of an invasion of Canada, by a junction 

)f the forces under general Wilkinson with those under 

General Hampton, on the St. Lawrence, with a view to 

he reduction of Montreal. Many unforeseen obstacles 

nterposed to frustrate this plan of operations. General 

Wilkinson's force, embaiking from French creek, and 

proceeding down the St. Lawrence, were greatly annoyed 

)y strong parties on the Canada shore; and the troops 

inder general Brown, attempting to repulse them, were 

;hecked at Williamsburg, on the 11th of November, with 

L loss of several hundred men. On the 12th, the army 

eached St. Regis ; but here general Wilkinson, learning 

hat the proposed junction atPlattsburg was impracticable, 

vithdrew to French Mills, and encamped for the season. 

Success of the British, on the Niagara frontier. — In the 

nonth of December, the American general found it ne- 

essax'y to relinquish fort George, on the approach of a 

uperior British force, and, as an expedient to cripple the 



298 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXXXIIL 

enemy, burned the opposite village of Newark. This ill- 
judged step caused a cruel reaction, on the part of the 
British, who, after suprising fort Niagara, aided by their 
wonted savage allies, retaliated, by burning several Amer- 
ican villages. — At every step, in tracing the history of 
war, we see how it brutalizes the heart. The universal 
voice of the nation was lifted up, in England, in response 
to loi'd Chatham's eloquent invectives, in the British par- 
liament, against the cruelty of employing the Indian race 
in the revolutionary war. But the boasted refinement of 
the nineteenth century, does not, we see, redeem the Brit- 
ish character from this disgraceful stain. 

sec. ii.— events of 1814. 
Reading Lesson CXXXIII. 

Battle of Chipfewa. — On the morning of the 3d of July, 
1814, generals Scott and Ripley, with a force of three 
thousand men, crossed the Niagara river, and took pos- 
session of fort Niagara, without opposition. On the 4th, 
general Brown, who had been detached with two thou- 
sand troops, from general Wilkinson's command, advanced 
to the village of Chippewa, to attack the British force there 
intrenched, under general Riall. On the morning of the 
5th, the British general drew out his troops, and offered 
battle, but was compelled to retire, with a loss of five 
hundred men. Riall felt himself compelled to fall back 
on Queenstown and Burlington heights. Here he was 
joined by general Drummond, who took the command. 

Battle of Liundifs Lane. — The American force had ad- 
vanced so as to encamp near the falls of Niagara, when, 
on the evening of the 25th of July, the advance of the two 
armies again encountered at Lundy's lane, not far from 
the Falls. The battle was obstinately fought by the ad- 
vance, on each side, till the main body came up. Major 
(now general) Jessup, while general Scott was bravely 
maintaining the battle in front, against a vastly superior 
force, contrived to take the enemy in flank and rear, and 
to make general Riall and his suite prisoners. 

Storming of a hattery by colonel Miller and his regiment. 
— A British battery, on a commanding height, was deal- 
ing a most destructive fire on the Americans. To carry 
this position was the turning point on which depended the 



HISTORY.— 1814. 299 

fortune of the field. Colonel Miller was asked if he would 
attempt the task. " I will try, sir," was bis modest answer 
to general Ripley, his commanding officer; and, with his 
brave troops, he advanced up the height till within a short 
distance of the enemy's guns, and then, in face of a sweep- 
ing fire of cannon and musketry, carried the battei-y, at 
the point of the bayonet. The American line was imme- 
diately formed on the height, and the ground held, notwith- 
standing the desperate efforts of the enemy to recover it. 

Success of the Americans. — In the last of these assaults, 
general Druramond was wounded; and his troops were 
then withdrawn. Tlie result of this hard-fought field, 
was, to the Americans, — notwithstanding their loss was 
nearly equal to that of the British, — equivalent to a deci- 
sive victory, owing to the number and. character of the 
troops engaged on the opposite side. 

Repulse of the British, in their attack on fort Erie. — 
Generals Scott and Brown having both been wounded, 
the command devolved on general Ripley, who deemed it 
prudent to reti'eat to fort Erie. Here he was attacked, 
on the 4th of August, by general Drummond, at the head 
of five thousand men. On the 5th, general Gaines, arriv- 
ing from Sachet's harbor, as senior officer, took the com- 
mand. On the 13th and 14th, a heavy cannonade was 
kept up, on both sides. On the 15th, a furious assault 
was made by the British, but issued in their final repulse, 
with a loss of nearly a thousand men. 

On the 2d of September, general Brown was again 
able to take the command, and, on the 17th, a successful 
sortie was effected, in which the enemy's advance works 
were entirely de£.troyed, and several hundred prisoners 
taken. The British, on the night of the 21st, retreated to 
fort George, on learning the approach of general Izard, 
with reinforcements for the American army. 

Close of the campaign. — General Izard arrived on the 
9th of October, and, deeming farther operations unadvis- 
able, in that quarter, destroyed fort Erie, and withdrew 
the troops to winter quarters. 

Operations in the vicinity of lake Charnplain. — The 
British plan of campaign, in this quarter, was to obtain 
command of lake Champlain, and then to move down the 
Hudson, to cooperate with an intended attack on the citj"" 
of New York. The enemy's expectation was, in this 



300 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXXXIV. 

way, to dismember the Union, by cutting off the New- 
England states from communication with the other por- 
tions of the country, as, — it will be recollected, — was a 
favorite attempt of the British, in the war of the revolu- 
tion. 

Reading Lesson CXXXIV. 

General Wilkinson' s position at Plattshurg. — In the lat- 
ter part of February, general Wilkinson had left his win- 
ter quarters at French Mills, and removed his force to 
Plattshurg. He made an excursion thence into Canada, 
in the month of March. But, meeting a considerable force 
at La Colle on the Sorel, he had been repulsed, and com- 
pelled to fall back on Plattsbui'g. Here general Izard 
assumed the command, but, in August, was detached to 
the Niagara frontier, as already mentioned. Plattshurg, 
now under general Macomb, was thus left with a force 
of only fifteen hundred men. 

Advance of the British on Plattshurg. — The establish- 
ment of peace in Europe, left large additions of military 
force at the disposal of England ; and a portion of these 
was sent to Canada. Sir George Prevost, the command- 
ing general, was thus enabled to bring an army of four- 
teen thousand choice troops against Plattshurg; and an 
attempt was, at the same time, to be made, to destroy the 
American flotilla on lake Champlain, under commodore 
MacDonough. The enemy reached Plattshurg on the 
6th of September; and general Macomb withdrew his 
small force to a favorable position, across the Saranac, 
where, for four days, this heroic little band withstood every 
effort of the British veteran army to force a passage. 

MacDonough's victory on the lake. — On the morning 
of the 11th, a general cannonade was opened on the 
American works ; and, soon after, the British fleet, under 
commander Downie, bore down, and, anchoring in line, 
abreast of the American fleet, under commodore Mac 
Donough, commenced the attack. 

The superior size, and number and weight of guns, of 
the British flag-ship, gave her great advantage over the 
American ; so that, in the space of two hours, the latter . 
became nearly unmanageable. By skilful manoeuvering, 
however, she was winded on her antagonist, with a fresh 
broadside from her larboard, which was yet sound. The 



HISTORY.— 1814. 301 

errific havoc, thus effected, caused the enemy's flag to be 
truck, a few minutes afterward. Most other vessels of 
he British fleet, had, in the meantime, surrendered or 
)een sunk. Among the killed, in this bloody encounter, 
vas the British commander; and the prisoners amounted 
o nearly nine hundred. The inferiority of the American 
brce, ou this occasion, greatly enhanced the value of the 
victory. 

Repulse and retreat of the British army. — The bombard- 
nent was maintained, meanwhile, on land, without inter- 
•uption, till sunset ; and three furious but unavailing at- 
acks weie made by the British, with a view to force a 
Dassage of the river, at three different points. But all at- 
empts failed ; and the surrender of the British force on 
;he lake, which took place in sight of both armies, was but 
;he prelude to the speedy retreat of the enemy, under 
iavor of the dark. The loss of the British, in valuable 
military stores, in deserters, as well as in their number of 
\ilied and wounded, and their disabled sick, who were 
abandoned in the retreat, was very great ; and the morti- 
ication of defeat was, in this instance, aggravated by the 
ligh expectations which had been formed of the results to 
3e achieved by the valor and discipline of the veteran 
roops, engaged, contrasted with the scanty and raw force 
)f the Americans. 

Termination of the war. — In the month of August, 1814, 
he commissioners of Great Britain and the United States, 
net at Ghent, and, on the 24th of December following, 
;oncluded and signed a treaty of peace. The change in 
he political aspect of Europe, seemed, however, to ren- 
ler unnecessary any express stipulation regarding the 
auses of the contest ; and, notwithstanding the passing 
louds whicn have since, for a moment, obscured the 
unshine of peace and cordial feeling between the two 
ountries, there seems little reason to apprehend any 
ature renewal of the attitude of contention and strife 
ietween them. 

Nor can the hope be pronounced sanguine, that the 
:»otsteps of war shall no more pollute the soil or deface 
- le fertile valleys of our native state. We may reason- 
bly trust, that the repose of its beautiful scenes of river, 
ike, and inountain, shall never, henceforward, be dis- 
irbed by the roar of hostile cannon ; and that the only 



302 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXXXV, 

sourixls which shall startle the echoes of its solitudes, shall 
be the peaceful and cheerins^ echo of the woodman's axe, 
as he toils to let in the fertilizing light and warmth of the 
eun upon the bosom of the soil, or the harmless explosion 
of the powder blast, as it rends the rock, to level the way 
for the transit of the steam-car, destined to facilitate the 
interchange of the fruits of industry and the blessings of 
peace, throughout the world. 



CHAP. VIIL— EVENTS FROM 1814 TO 1847. 
Reading Lesson CXXXV. 

Events subsequent to the treaty of Ghent. — Returning toj 
the narrative of our state history, we omit, as was for- 
merly explained, events connected only with the vicissi- 
tudes of political party, as unsuited to a work designed] 
to subserve the purposes of general education, and toj 
cherish the spirit of just local attachments in the mind off 
youth. The establishment and progress of public insti-j 
tutions, are reserved for connected and succinct accounts! 
of such matters separately, at the close of our woi'k. Wei 
proceed, therefore, to mention briefly the prominent facts | 
of a character strictly historical, which occurred within i 
the period subsequent to the conclusion of the peace se- 
cured by the treaty of Ghent. 

De Witt Clinton chosen governor. — At the election of - 
1817, governor Tompkins was succeeded by De Witt] 
Clinton, an individual whose name is inseparably con- 
nected with the prosperity of the state, in its great sys- 
tem of internal improvements, but particularly the con- 
struction of the Erie canal, and the other public works! 
which have been produced as its ramifications. Governor' 
Clinton was reelected in 1820, but declined being a can- 
didate in 1822. 

Amendment of the state constitution. — The constitution 
of the state, which was adopted in 1777, had undergone 
revision in 1801, and was, in 1820, remodelled once 
more, so as to become adapted to the progress of popular 
sentiment, and the actual condition of the people. The 



I 



HISTORY.— 1847. 303 

modifications to which we refer, will be found in a subse- 
quent page, in the statements connected with a brief 
sketch of the constitutional history of the state. It will 
suffice, for the present, to mention, in explanation of the 
shortened period of office assigned to the station of gov- 
ernor, that, by the amendments of 1820, the term was 
limited to two years. 

Terms of governors Yates, De Witt Clinton, ^-c. — In 1822, 
Joseph C Yates was chosen governor; and, in 1824, De 
Witt Clinton was once more called to that office, and 
again reelected, in 1826. His death, in February, 1828, 
occurred previous to the completion of his last term. 
The official duties were, in consequence, devolved on 
Nathaniel Pitcher, then lieutenant-governor. For three 
months of the year 1829, Martin Van Buren, — afterwards 
elevated to the presidency of the United States, — held the 
office of governor of the state of New York. The duties 
of this station were next discharged by Enos T. Throop, 
then lieutenant-governor, and, in 1830, elected governor. 
In 1832, William L. Marcy was chosen governor, and, 
having been reelected in 1834 and 1836, continued in 
office till 1838. At the election of the year last men- 
tioned, William H. Seward was appointed governor, was 
reelected in 1840, and held office till 1842, when he was 
succeeded by William C. Bouck. In 1844, Silas Wright 
was chosen governor, and, in 1846, John Young. 

Revision of the state constitution. — A convention, for the 
revision and modification of the constitution of the state, 
was held at Albany, in the summer of 1846 ; and the con- 
stitution then revised, was adopted, by the people, at the 
autumn election, in November of the same year. The 
principal features of the new constitution, will be found 
described at the close of this volume. 



Concluding ohservations on the history of Neto York. 

Our survey of the history of New York, is now finished. 
We have traced the stream of local events from its source, 
n the humble enterprise of Hudson, and the trading ex- 
jeditions of Dutch adventurers, down through the ampler 
leld of narrative presented in the era of the Dutch West- 
India company's power, and thence to that of British rule, 
ivhen the American colonies became the grand theatre of 



304 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.-LESSON CXXXV. 

war between the great European I'ivals, England and 
France, — a period during which New York was occa- 
sionally the scene and the centre of warlike operations 
destined to a place in the historical records of the world. 

We have followed the widening current of our history, 
through the years of that unnatural strife which the tyranny 
of England forced upon a people, chiefly descended from 
herself, speaking her own language as their native tongue, 
inheriting the immunities of her free institutions, and affoc- 
tionately clinging to her, till the hand of filial attachment 
was harshly shaken off. We have witnessed the termi- 
nation of the strife, in the triumph of justice and liberty, 
and the diffusion of the blessings of peace and plenty and 
order and happiness, over our own and the other united 
and independent states of the great American union. We 
have been reluctantly recalled to trace, once more, the 
footprints of war amid our native scenes, but soon again 
to rejoice in the establishment of peace and the enjoy- 
ment of its attendant benefits. 

Amid these shifting scenes of weal and woe, we have 
frequently observed, conspicuously displayed, the brave 
deeds and noble characters of those whom we delight to 
claim, not only as American compatriots, but as native or 
adopted citizens of our own state. On the majestic and 
beautiful scenery of mountain and valley, lake and river, 
for which our native region stands conspicuous in the 
world, no eye can look with indifference ; nor is it the 
mere boast of local partiality, which declares that, in this 
respect. New York has no rival among our whole family 
of confederated states. 

But there is yet a nobler source of gratulation on which 
to dwell, in connection with our local attachments, — we 
allude to the men who have, by their valor, their wisdom, 
their patriotism, their intelligence, and their worth, shed 
a living lustre on the state of which they were honored 
members, and in which their memories will be gratefully 
cherished, through succeeding ages. 

On the characters to which we now refer, we could not 
conveniently dwell, during our brief and rapid survey of 
historical events. But we feel assured that our readers 
will take pleasure in studying them individually, in the 
following pages. Such models may well inspire the mind 
of youth with the noblest incitements to virtue. 



BIOGRAPHY 

OF DISTINGUISHED INDIVIDUALS, CONNECTED 
WITH THE HISTORY OF NEW YORK. 

Reading Lesson CXXXVI. 

j Introductory Observations. 

; The most instructive part of history, is that which 
informs us of the lives and characters of eminent men. 
History has been happily termed " philosophy teaching 
by examples ;" and, in no part of it, does this definition 
prove more just than in biography. This private page 
of history reveals to us the secret springs of those great 
actions which constitute the themes of the historian : it 
exhibits the personal dispositions and characters of those 
conspicuous actors in the great theatre of the world, 
whose recorded deeds become the history of their times. 

The biographical portion of history has a double charm 
for the mind. It wins our attention to our fellow-men 
in their daily routine of private life. It places them be- 
fore us in a position which enables us to view them dis- 
:inctly, as beings like ourselves, with whom we can sym- 
aathize, in whose successes or failures we take a lively 
interest, and whose example is full of instruction for 
warning or incitement. We learn, thus, to admire their 
i^irtues, to shun their faults, to emulate their noble qual- 
ties and great actions, and to trace the inseparable con- 
lection between the most illustrious deeds which confer 
"enown on public life, and the cultivation of those traits 
3f personal habit and private character, which are the 
sources of human conduct. 

The remotest antiquity exerts, in this way, an influ- 
ence on the present time, and still continues to teach and 
:o inspire the virtues of life, in successive generations. 
But the record of human excellence becomes still more 
mpressive in its instructions, when it comes down to our 
Dwn period of the world's history, and speaks to us, fi'om 



306 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK— LESSON CXXXVI. 

its silent yet eloquent pages, of the thoughts and deeds 
of our ancestors, and even of our fathers. More instruct- 
ive still, is the lesson of the historian, when he records the 
doings of those who have dwelt in the very scenes amid 
which we lead our daily life, and whose actions have 
consecrated to our hearts the very spots on which our 
eyes are daily turned, or on which we can plant our own 
footsteps. 

History then seems to walk into our homes, and lift up 
its voice at our fireside. It resembles, then, the venerable 
relative, who recounts, amid the family circle, the tale of 
by-gone days, when our fathers, in their youth, mingled' 
with their countrymen, to rescue their native land from 
oppression. Familiar names then fall from the lips of the 
narrator ; and our kinsmen take each his place in the 
ranks of history. We dwell then, with double delight, 
on the porti-aits of human worth, and feel assured that 
merit is brought within our own reach. 

The state of New York furnishes to its youth, for their 
perusal, a most instructive page of private history. Its 
list of great names in science, art, and literature, and in 
public life, is rich, and full of inspiring influence. The 
limits of a book such as this, restrict us to the selection 
of a few prominent actors on the stage of our local his- 
tory, and to brief sketches of even these. But we hope 
that the mental relish of the slight repast which we here 
offer, will create a taste for more extensive reading in 
this department, in the subsequent years of life, when 
our young readers shall have completed the period of 
education, and have entered on the sphere of active du- 
ties and maturer age. The moments of leisure which 
may then intervene between the calls of business, can be 
spent in no way more useful, than in dwelling on the 
lives and actions of the men to whom New York owes 
her present position in the Union, and in the broader field 
of the world. 

The order in which the following biographical sketches 
are presented, is designed to follow, as nearly as practi- 
cable, the succession of events in our local history.* 

* The subjects of the following lessons have been drawn from 
various authentic sources, to which more particular references woulil 
have been made, but for the necessity of those modifications which 
such materials undergo, in the process of compilation, with a view to 



BIOGRAPHY.— CAPTAIN WILLET. 307 

Reading Lesson CXXXVII. 
CAPTAIN WILLET.* 

" Captain Willet, first mayor of New York, arrived at 
Plymouth, in 1629, a young man, but much esteemed for 
lis good character and capacity for business. In 1630, 
he Plymoutli company sent him to superintend their trad- 
ng house at Penobscot, where he remained several years. 
Ln 1650, he was engaged by the Dutch governor, Stuyve- 
saut, to aid in compromising the question of boundary with 
S^evv Haven. 

" In 1651, he was an 'assistant' in Plymouth colony; 
md he was annually reelected till 1665, — when he was 
excused, at the request of colonel Nicolls, who, soon after, 
ippointed him mayor of New York, which office he filled 
line years. His acquaintance with the language and 
customs of the Dutch, made him highly serviceable to the 
lew government. 

" In 1674, he retired to his farm at Rehoboth, now in 

idapt them to the purposes of a schoolbook. Teachers who wish to 
lid their pupils in extending their course of biographical reading, may 
efer them, advantageously, to the volumes of American biography, 
idited by Mr. Sparks, or to the more compendious articles in the 
Encyclopaedia Americana, — works which ought to be accessible to all 
lUf youth, among the books contained in their school libraries. 

One of the most substantial rewards which a teacher can confer on 
liligent and attentive pupils, is to relate to them, orally, for a few 
ninutes, daily, the substance of those more extensive biographies 
vhich are embodied in separate works too extensive or costly for 
juvenile readers. Among such books we would mention the follow 
ng, as connected with our local history. 

The Life of Gouvenieur Morris, by .Tared Sparks; of Alexander 
lamilton, by John C. Hamilton ; of William Livingston, by Theodore 
>edgwick, Jr. ; of De Witt Clinton, by Professor Renwdck ; of Robert 
-"niton, by the same author, and by Cadwallader D. Colden; of John 
i. Livingston, by Alexander Gunn ; of Samuel J. Mills, by Gardiner 
spring; of Mrs. Schuyler, by Mrs. Grant; of Isabella Graham, by 
Divie Bethune ; of Lucretia Maria Davidson, by Miss Sedgwick ; of 
Vlargaret Miller Davidson, by Washington L-ving. 

To these may be added the lives of Brandt and Red Jacket, by 
tV. L. Stone; the Indian Biographies, by B. B. Thacher; and the 
lurnerous and valuable biographical notices contained in Mr. Ben- 
jamin F. Thompson's copious and instructive volumes on the history 
)f L'lng Island. 

* For this and several other biographical sketches we are indebted 
o the valuable work of Mr. Thompson, mentioned in the preceding 
10 te. 



308 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK— LESSON CXXXVIH. 

the town of Seekonk, Bristol County, Massachusetts, 
where he died, August 4th, of that year. He maintained, 
through life, an exalted reputation for integrity and firm- 
ness, and was not inferior to any of the pilgrims, in those 
high qualities which rendered them so illustrious. Thus, 
the first English mayor of the first commercial city in 
America, lies buried on a lonely and barren heath in the 
humble town of Seekonk, at a place seldom visited by the 
footsteps of man ; and a plain monument marks the spot 
where his ashes repose. The late colonel Marinus AVil- 
let,* ' whose name our readere will recollect as occurring in 
our revolutionary history, " was his great-great-grandson, 
and held the same office, in 1807, which had been filled 
by his ancestor, one hundred and forty-two years before. 



Readi>-g Lesson CXXXVIII. 
LION GARDINER, 

" From whom Gardiner's island has its name, was a n 
tive of Scotland, and served as a lieutenant in the Britisl 
army, in the Low Countries, under general Fairfax. He 
belonged to the republican party, with the illustrious 
Hampden, Cromwell, and others of the same stamp. 

" He was commander of Saybrook fort, when captain 
Mason, in 1637, pursued and destroyed the Pequots, at a 
swamp in Fairfield, and came near being captured by that 
savage people ; one of his men having been taken and 
tortured, the fort burned, and the family of captain Gar- 
diner narrowly escaping the worst of deaths. He con- 
tinued in command here, till 1639, when he removed to 
the island which bears his name, where he fixed his resi- 
dence. 

" This valuable island was purchased of lord Stirling's 
agent, by Lion Gardiner, March 10th, 1639, having previ- 
ously agreed with the Indians for their right, to whom he 
paid, according to tradition, 'one large black dog, one gun, 
a quantity of powder and shot, some rum, and a few 
Dutch blankets.' The price paid Mr. Fanet, the agent, 
was little more, with an annuity of d£5, to the earl of 
Stirling, ' if demanded.' This was the first Eng-lish set- 
tlement within the present limits of this state, being one 
year anterior to that of Southampton or Southold. 

" Gardiner gave assistance to the planters of Easthamp- 









BIOGRAPHY.— LIOX GARDINER. 309 

on, both in organizing tlieir settlement, and procuring the 
riendship of the Montauk sachem, and the people under 
lis authority. In 1653, he gave his son David possession 
)f the island, and took up his subsequent abode at East- 
lampton. In his family bible, among other entries, in 
lis handwriting, is the following curious item : 

" ' In the yeare of our Lord, 1635, July the 10th, came 
'., Lion Gardiner, and Mary, my wife, from Woerden, a 
owne in Holland, where my wife was borne. We came 
rom AVoerden to London, and from thence to New Eng- 
and, and dwelt at Seabrooke forte four yeares, of which I 
vas commander ; and then I went to an island of mine 
»wne, which I bought of the Indians, c^ed by them Man- 
:honoke, by us the isle of Wite.' 

Mr. Gardiner was instrumental in restoring to the 
achem of Montauk his daughter, previously captured by 
"finicraft, and his men, with thirteen other women ; in ac- 
nowledgment of which, the noble-minded chief presented 
im a deed for a part of the territory now comprised in 
he limits of Smithto\\Ti. Having lived at Saybrook, dur- 
ug the final struggle with the Pequots, and being well 
cquainted with the circumstances attending it, Mr. Gardi- 
er was requested to commit to paper, what he recollected 
F that melancholy event, and the causes which led to it. 
[is communication on the subject, is contained in an 
pistle, of which the following is a copy. 

Reading Lesson CXXXIX. 
Life of Lion Gardiner, continued. 

" ' Easthampton, Jime 12th, 1660. 
'Loving Friends, Robert Chapman and Thomas Hurl- 
at. — My love remembered to you both. These are to 
"iform,, that, as you desired me, when I was with you and 
lajor Mason, at Seabrooke, two years and a half ago, to 
snsider and call to mind the passages of God's provi- 
ence at Seabrooke, in and about the time of the Pequit 
av : — wherein I have now endeavored to answer your 
?sires, and have rumaged and found some old papers 
len written: it was a great help to ray memory. 
•• "You know that when I came to you, I was an engi- 
?er or architect, whereof carpentry is a little part ; but 
pu know I could never use all the tools ; for, although 



310 KEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSOX CXXXIX. 

for my necessity, I was forced sometimes to use my sliift- 
ing chissel and my holdfast, yet you know I could never 
endure nor abide the smoothing -plane. 

" ' I have sent you a piece of timber, scored and fore- 
hewed, unfit to join to any piece of handsome work ; but, 
seeing I have done the hardest work, you must get some- 
body to chip it and to smooth it, lest the splinters should 
prick some men's fingers ; — for the truth must not be 
spoken at all times; though, to my knowledge, I have 
written nothing but truth ; and you may take out or put in 
what you please. But I think you may let the governor 
and major Mason see it. I have also inserted some addi- 
tions of things that were done since, that may be consid- 
ered togethei". And thus, as I was when I was with you, 
so I remain still, your loving friend. Lion Gardiner.' 

" The narrative of the letter was as follows : — ' In the 
year, 1635, I, Lion Gardiner, Engineer and Master of 
Works of Fortifications, in the Legers* of the Prince of 
Orange, in the Low Countries, through the persuasion 
of Mr. John Davenport, Mr. Hugh Peters, with some 
other well-affected Englishmen of Rotterdam, I made an' 
agreement with the forenamed Mr. Peters, for c£100 per 
annum, for four years, to serve the company of patentees. 
I say, I was to serve them only in the drawing, ordering, 
and making of a city, towns, or forts of defence. 

"'And so I came from Holland to London, and from 
thence to New England, where I was appointed to attend 
such orders as Mr. John Winthrop, Esquire, the present 
governor of Coimecticut, was to appoint, whether at Pe- 
quit River or Connecticut, and that we should choose a 
place, both for the convenience of a good harbor, and also 
for capableness and fitness for fortification.' 

" He then proceeds to express his disappointment, on 
arriving at the mouth of the river, to find so few men, 
so small means of defence, and slender provision for the 
number of persons necessary to the building of the fort. 
So they returned to Boston, and sent Mr. Stephen Win- 
throp to the mouth of the river for the purpose of trading 
with the natives in exchange for cloth, and who, with his 
own company, came near being killed. Afterwards, cap- 
tains Endicott, Turner, and L^nderhill, with a company 
of soldiers, arrived at Saybrook, where they posted them- 
* In modern orthography, leaguers, — sieges. 



BIOGRAPHY.— CAPT. UNDERHILL, 311 

selves, much to the dissatisfaction of Mr. Gardiner, believ- 
ing that their presence would exasperate the natives, and 
render them more hostile to the English." 

But, as this narrative belongs more properly to the histo- 
ry of New England, we must omit it here, with the excep- 
tion of its highly characteristic closing sentence. " Thus 
far I had written in a book, that all men and posterity 
might know how and why so many honest men had their 
Mood shed, yea, and some flayed alive, others cut in pieces, 
and some roasted alive, only because one Bay Indian killed 
one Pequot." The allusion is here to the facts, in detail, 
connected with the commencement of the Pequot war. 

Reading Lesson CXL. 
CAPTAIN JOHN UNDERHILL. 

" On a farm lately owned by one of his descendants, 
called by him Killingworth, and by the Indians Matinne- 
cock, in the town of Oyster Bay, Long Island, is the grave 
of this wonderful man, of whom so frequent mention is 
taade in the early histones of New England and New 
York. ' He was,' says the Rev. Mr. Bacon, ' one of the 
Tiost dramatic persons in our early history.' Having 
served as an officer in the British forces, in the Low Coun- 
:ries, in Ireland, and at Cadiz, he came fi-om England to 
.Massachusetts, soon after the commencement of the colo- 
ly, and was very generally employed in such expeditions 
4S required the most extraordinary courage, energy, and 
perseverance. 

" He had an important command in the war against the 
Pequots, in 1636 ; and, on the 2d of February, 1637, he was 
sent to Saybrook with twenty men, to keep the fort there 
igainst the Dutch and Indians ; both of whom had mani- 
ested a design upon that place. He was a man of the 
nost determined resolution, activity, and courage ; and 
mch was the rapidity of his movements, and his subtility 
)f attack, that his enemies were almost always taken by 
mrprise, and consequently defeated. 

" He was one of the first deputies from Boston to the 
general courts, and one of the earliest officers of the An- 
(iient and Honorable Artillery Company. Most of the 
iccouuts of that interesting period, are full of the partic- 
ilars of his checkered life ; and few persons were more 



312 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXL. 

distinguished, or rendered more valuable service to the 
colonies, than this individual, especially in their wars and 
controvei'sies with the savages. 

" He was the personal and political friend of Sir Hen- 
ry Vane, who, in 1637, at the age of twenty-six years, was 
appointed governor of Massachusetts. Underbill was also 
an enthusiast in religion, so far, at least, as appearances 
were concerned, yet was a debauchee in practice. Strange 
as it may seem, the church did not censure him so much 
for his irregularities, as for saying that he dated his con- 
version from the time he was smoking tobacco. He was 
eccentric in many respects, and, in evei-ything he did, was 
apt to run into extremes. 

" That he was in America, as early as 1632, is evident 
from the accounts of the treasurer of the Massachusetts 
colony, showing that he received a pension of thirty 
pounds a year, for services rendered to the colony, in its 
contests with the Indians. Hutchinson says, he was one 
of the most forward of the Boston enthusiasts ; and Hub- 
bard declares, that, in 1636, he was in high favor with the 
governor, or, as he calls him, right worthy Master Vane. 

" He went to England, in 1638, where he was interro- 
gated, and finally banished. While in England, he pub- 
lished a book, entitled, ' News from America, or a New 
and Experimental Discoverie of New England ; contain- 
ing a true relation of warlike proceedings, these two years 
past, with a figure of the Indian fort or palisado ; by John 
Underbill, a commander in the wars there.' 

" This curious book is now quite scarce, but is, in all 
respects, singularly characteristic of its author. He gives 
therein, in his peculiar and quaint manner, aii account 
of the frequent, and sometimes sanguinary conflicts, be- 
tween the whites and Indians. The war against the 
Block Islanders, was occasioned, he says, by their mur- 
der of captain John Oldham, whom ' they knocked upon 
the head, and martyred most barbarously, to the great 
grief of his poor distressed servants, which, by the provi- 
dence of God, were saved. The blood of the innocent 
called,' says he, ' for vengeance ; God stirred up the heart 
of the honored governor, Master Henry Vane, and the rest 
of the worthy magistrates, to send a hundred well-appoint- 
ed soldiers, under the conduct of Capt. John Hendicot, 
and, in company with him, Capt. John Underbill, Capt. 



il 



BIOGRAPHY.— CAPT. UNDERBILL. 313 

Nathan Turner, Capt. William Jenningson, besides other 
inferior officers.' 

" In the engagement which followed, Underhill received 
an arrow through his coat, and another against the helmet, 
upon his forehead, which said helmet he was advised by 
his wife to take. ' Therefore,' says he, ' let no man de- 
spise the advise and council of his wife, though she be a 
woman.' 

" The wi'iter gives a flattering description of the coun- 
try, and observes that ' Long Island is a place worth the 
naming, as affording many accommodations.' " 

Reading Lesson CXLI. 

Life of captain Underhill, continued. 

" Underhill afterwards resided at Dover, where he was 
made governor; but his conduct could not long be toler- 
ated, on account ot' his great irregularity. He behaved 
ery ungratefully toward the wife who, he acknowledges, 
ad, by her precaution, saved his life, in the affair with the 
Indians; and, with many expressions of sincere remorse, 
he besought the church ' to have compassion on him, and 
eliver him out of the hands of Satan.' 

" But the church considered him insincere, and cast 
im out of their communion. In 1639, he solicited to be 
eceived, with a few families, upon Long Island, and to 
snjoy the privileges of an inhabitant of the Dutch govern- 
Qent. This request was granted by the governor, upon 
ondition that he and his adherents should subscribe the 
ath of allegiance to the States General and the prince 
f Orange. It is probable that he declined the terms 
fFered. 

" Underhill had been engaged, with captain Mason, in 
,n attack upon the Indian fort at Mystic, in which the 
erce spirit of that warlike tribe was finally broken, by 
e loss of so many men, as were then destroyed ; even 
assacus was discouraged ; and, very soon, those Indians, 
a tribe, were extinguished. In 1641, having been 
osen governor of Exeter and Dover, he was soon in 
ouble with the church, of which he was a member. 
' He was, after his arrival on Long Island, employed 
iit> ^ the Dutch, and took command in the war with the 
l^ ftdians north of the Sound, and west of the Connecticut 

O 



314 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXLI. 

settlements. This contest lasted till 1646. In Trumbull's 
history, it is stated that Underbill destroyed three hundred 
Indians, north of the Sound, and one hundred and Iwentyj 
upon Long Island, who had crossed the Sound, to lavage 
and destroy the Dutch plantations there. At the perioc 
of this military employment, he lived at Stamford, ConneC'j 
ticut, was a delegate from that town to the general coui 
at New Haven, in 1643, and was appointed an assistant 
justice. 

" In 1644 he came, with the Rev. Mr. Denton, anc 
others of his church, to Long Island, and, soon after, bej 
came a resident of Flushing, where he evinced the sam« 
restless temper as formerly, and was anxious for a mil^ 
tary employment. 

" On the refusal of the committee of the United Cok 
nies to engage in the controversy between England anc 
Holland, he applied to Rhode Island, which, on the 17th" 
of May, 1653, resolved to appoint a committee from each 
town, ' for the ripening of matlei's that concerned the 
Dutch,' whom they styled enemies of that commonwealth, 
and agreed to furnish ' two great guns, twenty men, and 
other aid.' They also gave a commission to Undevhill 
and William Dyre, ' to go against the Dutch, or any ene- 
mies of the commonwealth of England.' 

" Under this authority, it is supposed he made an attack 
upon the Indians at fort Neck, when he captured the 
fort, anil destroyed many of the natives. He was after- 
wards settled in Oyster Bay ; for, in 1655, he was a dele- 
gate from that town to the meeting at Hempstead, by 
order of governor Nicoll, and was by him made sheriff of 
the north riding on Long Island. The Dutch had been 
detected by him, at a furmer period, in correspondence 
with the Indians, for the destruction of the English ; and, 
when they resumed possession of New York, in conse- 
quence of his disclosures in that respect, a^uard of sol- 
diers was sent from Manhattan to take him ; but on his 
engaging to be faithfid to the Dutch thereafter, he was set 
at liberty, and allowed to depart even without reproof 

" In 1667, the Matinnecock Indians conveyed to him a 
large tract of their lands, a part of which, called Killing- 
worth, remained in his family, for nearly two hundred 
years. His death occurred in 1672." 



biograpiiy.-dr. colden. 315 

Reading Lesson CXLII. 

CADWALLADER COLDEN, 

Distinguished as a mathematician, a physician, a naturaHst 
and an historian, and, for many years, heutenant-governor 
of the pi'ovince of New York, was the son of the Rev. 
Alexander Golden, of Dunse, in Scotland, and was born 
February, 17th, 16S8. He completed the usual course 
of study, at the university of Edinburgh, intending to de- 
vote himself to the profession of medicine. But his favor- 
ite pursuit was the study of mathematics, in which he 
made great proficiency, according to the standard of 
mathematical studies, at that time, in Scotland. 

In 1708, he emigrated to Pennsylvania, and practised, 
las a physician, for some years; after which, he returned 
to England, and there acquired professional reputation by 
an ingenious essay on a branch of physiological research. 
[From London he went to Scotland, and repaired again to 
[America, in 1716. 

I He settled, a second time, in Pemisylvania, but, in 
Il718, removed to New York. After a residence of a 
lyear, in this city, he was appointed the first surveyor-gen- 
eral of the lands of the colony, an office for which his 
'mathematical talent rendered him peculiarly competent. 
.He received, at the same time, the appointment of mas- 
ter in chancery, for which, however, neither his general 
learning, nor his studies in Scotland, could have afforded 
lim opportunity of special qualification. In 1720, he 
ilitained a seat in the king's council, under governor 
3urnet. 

For some time previous to this, he had resided on a 
ract of land, about nine miles from Newburg, on the 
HLudson river, for which he had received a patent. Here 
le was exposed, at every moment, to the attacks of the 
ndians ; the tract being situated on what was then the 
rentier. His position, in this respect, was, no doubt, a 
hief cause of the interest which he took in the study of 
ndian life and character ; and, to the same circumstance, 
/e are probably indebted for his historical work on the 
'ive Nations. 

In 1761, he was chosen lieutenant-governor of New 
'ork, and occupied this station, during the remainder of 



316 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXLIIL 

his life. He was, moreover, as the reader will remember, 
from our history, repeatedly placed at the head of affairs, 
by the absence or death of several governors. 

Golden, we have seen in the history, was a resolute 
tory, faithful to his notions of colonial subjection, and 
determined to oppose, on all occasions, the diffusion of 
popular ideas of liberty and independence. He was, 
therefore, no favorite with the people, especially after the 
odious measures of parliament which led to the revolution. 

On the return of governor Tryon, in 1775, he retired to 
a seat on Long Island, where he died, September 28th, 
1776, in the 89th year of his age. 

Dr. Colden's literary productions were numerous, con- 
sisting of botanical and medical essays. Among them, is 
a treatise showing the causes, and pointing out the reme- 
dies, of the yellow fever, which, about the year 1743, 
desolated New York. He also wrote an account of the 
prevalent diseases of the climate, besides his history of the 
five Indian nations. But the work which cost him most 
time and labor, was one on the cause of gravitation, or, 
as the title runs in the second and enlarged edition, the 
" principles of action in matter," to which is annexed a 
" treatise on fluxions." 

Dr. Golden corresponded with many of the most dis- 
tinguished characters of his day, among whom were Lin- 
naeus, Gronovius, the earl of Macclesfield, doctor Franklin, 
and other individuals of eminent repute. 

He always took the greatest delight in the study of 
botany. His descriptions of between three and four hun- 
dred American plants, were published under the sanction 
of the university at Upsal, in Sweden, under the eye of 
the great botanist, Linneeus. He paid attention, also, to 
the climate, and left a long course of diurnal observations 
on the thermometer, the barometer, and the winds. 

On his character as acting governor, we have already 
dwelt, in the historical part of our work. 

Reading Lesson CXLIIL 
Writings of Dr. Golden. 

The following extracts will serve to give the reader an 
idea of the character of Dr. Colden's interesting work, the 
History of the Five Nations, 



WORKS OF DI^. COLDEX. 327 

Customs of the Five Nations. 
" The Five Nations think themselves by nature sune 
nor to the rest of mankind, and call themselves JS 
hon^oe; that is men surpassing all others. Th's opinfon 
which they take care to cuftivate into their chi^d^en' 
gives them that courage which has been so terrible to aH 
the nations of North America; and they have taken such 
care to impress the same opinion of their people on all 
their neighbors, that they/on all occasionsSld the 
most submissive obedience to them 

" I have been told by old men in New England who 
remembered the time when the Mohawks made waron 
then Indians, that, as soon as a single Mohawk was dis^ 
to v!'. V^^ T""''^' '^^"- Indians'raised a cry from hi 1 
like h ' w"^ ' -^iohnv^k ..-upon which tl7ey alTfled 
ike sheep before wolves, without attempting to make the 
least resistance whatever odds were on thei°r side 
th. .1'^- P.^'^^New-England Indians immediately ran to 
the christian houses; and the Mohawks often Lisued 
so closely, that they entered along with them, andTocl 
ed their brains out in the presence of the people of the 
house ; but if the family had time to shut the door the v 
never attempted to force it, and, on no occasion dd an J 
injury to the christians. ' ^"^ 

"All the nations round them have, for many years en 

n wampum : they dare neither make war nor peace 
without the consent of the Mohawks. Two old merf com! 
nionly go about, every year or two, to receive this tr but™ 
and I have often had opportunity to observe what aS^ 
the poor Indians were under, while these two old men 

^^^^u^ T '^^' P""' ^^ ^he country where I was An 
o^d Mohawk sachem, in a poor blanket and a dhty sh^t 

t^oritv' ^^«V''^^"^r^" °^'^^^^ ^"'^ ^« arbitrary^anTu: 
thority, as a Roman dictator. ^ 

make'w.r"'' w'/^^ '\^^ ^^ '"^"'^' ^<>^^^er, that they 
make war; but from the notions of glory, which they 

thJf "T T' '''°"°'y ^-'"P^^"^^^ «" ^heir'minds ; and 
the farther they go to seek an enemy, the greater glory 
they think they gam. There cannot, I thinkfbe a JeZr 
or stronger instance than this, how much the sentfment" 
mipressed upon a people's mind, conduce to their grand- 



31 S XEW-YOKK CLASS-rOOK.— LESSON CXUV. 

eiir. or one that more verities a saying often to be met 
with, thousrh but too little minded, that it is in the power 
of the rulers of a people to make thera either great or 
little : for. by inculcating only the notions of honor and 
virtue, or those of luxury and riches, the people, in a little 
time, will iHX'ome such as their rulers desire. The Five 
Nations, in their love o( liberty and of their country, in 
thoir bravery in battle, and their constancy in enduring 
torments, equal the fortitude of the most renowned Ro- 
mans. I shall finish their general character by what an 
enemy, a Frenchman, says of them. — Monsieur De la 
Poterie. in his history of North America. 

'• ' ^^'hen we speak.' says he, ' o£ the Five Nations in 
France, they are thought, by a common mistake, to be 
mere barbarians, always thii-stinsr at\er himian blood ; but 
their true character is very different. They are. indeed, 
the fiercest and most formidable people in North Amer- 
ica, and, at the same time, are as politic and judicious, as 
well can be conceived : and this appears from the manage- 
ment of all the affairs which they transact, not only with 
the French and English, but likewise with almost all the 
Indian nations of this vast continent/ " 

Keaping Lesso:^ CXLIV. 

E:r'riic: frc^n ;,';<• His:cr-j cf :he Five JV,:::. ";.-■. i-. •;:•'; :.<u". 

'* When any of tlie young men of these nations have a 
mind to signalize themselves, and to gain a reputation 
among their countrymen, by some notable enterprise 
against their enemy, they, at first, commimicate their de- 
sign to two or three of their most intimate friends: and, 
if they come into it, an invitation is made, in their names, 
to all the young men of the castle, to feast on doe's fiesh; 
but whether this be because dog:'s flesh is most agreeable 
to Indian palates, or whether it be as an emblem of 
fidelity, for which the dosf is distinsfuished by all nations, 
that it is always used on this occasion. I have not sufii- 
cient information to determine. When the company is 
met, the promoters of the enterprise set fonh the under- 
taking in the best colors they can; they boast of what they 
intend to do. and incite others to join, frtim the gloiy 
there is to be obtained; and all who eat of the dog's 
flesh, thereby enlist themselves. 



WORKS OF DR. COLDEN. 319 

" The night before they set out, they make a grand 
feast : to this all the noted warriors of the nation are in- 
vited ; and here they have their war-dance to the beat of 
a kind of a kettle-drum. The warriors are seated in two 
rows in the house, and each rises tip in his turn, and sings 
the great acts he has himself performed, and the deeds of 
his ancestors ; and this is always accompanied with a kind 
of a dance, or rather action, representing the manner in 
which they were performed ; and, from time to time, all 
present join in a chorus, applauding every notable act. 
They exaggerate the injiiries they have, at any time, re- 
ceived from their enemies, and extol the glory which any 
of their ancestors have gained by their bravery and 
courage ; so that they work up their spirits to a high de- 
gree of warlike enthusiasm. 

" I have sometimes persuaded some of their young In- 
dians to act these dances, for our diversion, and to show 
us the manner of them; and even, on these occasions, 
they have worked themselves up to such a pitch, that they 
have made all present, uneasy. Is it not probable, that 
such designs as these have given the first rise to tragedy ] 

" They come to these dances with their faces painted 
in a frightful manner, as they always are when they go 
to war, to make themselves terrible to their enemies ; 
and, iu this manner, the night is spent. Next day, they 
march out with much formality, dressed in their finest 
apjiarel, and, in their march, observe a profound silence. 

" An officer of the regular troops told me, that while 
he was commandant of fort Hunter, the Mohawks, on one 
of these occasions, told him, that they expected the usual 
military honors as they passed the garrison. Accordingly, 
he drew out his garris(m ; the men presented their pieces 
as the Indians passed, and the drum beat a march ; and, 
with less respect, the officer said, they would have been 
dissatisfied. The Indians passed in a single row, one 
alter another, with great gravity and profound silence ; 
and every one of them, as he passed the officer, took his 
gun from his shoulder, and fired into the ground, near the 
officer's foot ; they marched, in this manner, three or four 
miles from their castle. 

" The women, on these occasions, always follow them 
with their old clothes; and they send back, by them, 
their finery in which they marched from the castle. But 



320 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK. -LESSON CXLV. 

before they go from this place, where they exchange their 
clothes, they always peel a large piece of the baik from 
some great tree. They commonly choose an oak as most 
lasting; upon the smooth side of this wood, they, with 
their red paint, draw one or more canoes, going from 
home, with the number of men in them, paddhng, which 
go upon the expedition ; and some animal, as a deer or 
fox, an emblem of the nation against which the expe- 
dition is designed, is painted at the head of the canoes; 
for they always travel in canoes along the rivers, which 
lead to the country against which the expedition is de- 
signed, — as far as they can. 

" After the expedition is over, they stop at the same 
place, in their return, and send to their castle, to inform 
their friends of their arrival ; that they may be prepared 
to give them a solemn reception, suited to the success they 
have had. In the meantime, they represent, on the same 
tree, or some one near it, the event of the enterprise ; 
and now the canoes are painted with their heads tui'ned 
towards the castle; the number of the enemy killed, is 
represented by scalps painted black, and the number of 
prisoners by as many withs, (in their painting not unlike 
pothooks,) with which they usually pinion their captives. 
These trees ai-e the annals, or rather trophies of the Five 
Nations : I have seen many of them ; and by them, and 
their war-songs, they preserve the history of their great 
achievements. The solemn reception of these warriors, 
and the acclamations of applause, which they receive, at 
their return, cannot but have, in the hearers, the same 
effect, in raising an emulation for glory, that a triumph 
had on the old Romans." 



Reading Lesson CXLV. 
An Indian hero. 

[From the same work.] 

•' An Indian, named Piskaret, was, at this time,* one 
of the captains of greatest fame among the Adirondacs : 
this bold man, with four other captains, set out for Trois- 
Rivieres in one canoe ; each of them being provided 
with three muskets, which they loaded with two bullets 
* Soon after the arrival of the French in Canada. 



WORKS OF DR. COLDEN. 321 

apiece, joinecl with a small chain, ten inches long; they 
met with five canoes on Sorel river, each having ten men 
of the Five Nations on board, 

" Piskaret and his captains, as soon as those of the Five 
Nations drew near, pretended to give themselves up for 
lost, and sung their death-song, then suddenly fired upon 
the canoes, which they repeated with the arms that lay 
ready loaded, and tore those birch vessels betwixt wind 
and water. The men of the Five Nations were so sur- 
prised, that they tumbled out of their canoes, and gave 
Piskaret and his companions the opportunity of knocking 
as many of them on the head as they pleased, and saving 
the others, to feed their revenge, which they did, by burn- 
ing them alive, with the most cruel torments. 

" This, however, was so far from glutting Piskaret's 
revenge, that it seemed rather to give a keener edge to 
it; for he, soon after, undertook another enterprise, in 
which none of his countrymen durst accompany him. He 
was well acquainted with the country of the Five Nations, 
and set out about the time the snow began to melt, — with 
the precaution of putting the hinder part of his snow-shoea 
forward, that if any should happen upon his footsteps, 
they might think he was gone the contrary way ; and, for 
farther security, went along the ridges and high grounds, 
where the snow was melted, that his track might be often 
lost. When he came near one of the villages of the Five 
Nations, he hid himself till night, and then entered a cabin, 
while every body was fast asleep, .murdered the whole 
family, and carried their scalps into his lurking place. 

" The next day, the people of the village searched for 
the murderer, in vain. The following night, he murdered 
all he found in another cabin. The inhabitants, next day, 
searched, likewise in vain, for the murderer; but, the third 
night, a watch was kept in every house. 

" Piskaret, in the night, bundled up the scalps he had 
taken, the two former nights, to carry, as the proof of his 
victory, and then stole privately from house to house, till, 
at last, he found an Indian nodding, who was upon the 
watch in one of the houses ; he knocked this man on the 
head ; but as this alarmed the rest, he was forced imme- 
diately to fly. 

" He was, however, under no great concern from the 
pursuit, being more swift of foot than any Indian then 

o* 



322 I NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXLVI. 

livino-. He let his pursuers come near him, from time to 
time, and then would dart from them. This he did with 
design to tire them out, with the hopes of overtaking him. 
" As it began to grow dark, he hid himself; and his 
pursuers stopped to rest. They, not being apprehensive 
of any danger from a single man, soon fell asleep; and 
the bold Piskaret, observing this, knocked them all on the 
head, and carried away their scalps among the rest." 



Reading Lesson CXLVI. 
Indian Tradition. 

[From the same work.] 

" In June, 1665, Monsieur De Tracy, appointed vice- 
roy of America by the French king, arrived at Quebec, 
after he had visited the French islands in the West Indies, 
and brought with him four companies of foot ; and, in 
September, of the same year, M. Courcelles arrived as gov- 
ernor general of Canada ; he brought with him a regiment 
and several families, with all things necessary for establish- 
ing a colony. Their force being now thus considerably 
augmented, the French governor resolved to chastise the 
insolence of the Five Nations ; and for that purpose, in 
the winter, sent out a party against the Mohawks ; but 
these, by the cold, and their not knowing the use of snow- 
shoes, suffered very much, without doing anything against 
the enemy. 

" This party, however, fell in with Schenectady, — a 
small town which Corlear, (a considerable man among 
the Dutch,) had then newly settled. When they appeared 
near Schenectady, they were almost dead with cold and 
hunger ; and the Indians, who were then in that village, 
had entirely destroyed them, if Corlear, (in compassion to 
his fellow-christians,) had not contrived their escape. He 
had a mighty influence over the Indians ; and it is from 
him, and in remembrance of his merit, that all gov- 
ernors of New York are called Corlear by the Indians, to 
this day, though he himself was never governor. He pei'- 
suaded the Indians that this was a small party of the 
French army come to amuse them ; that the great body 
was gone directly towards their castles ; and that it was 
necessary for them immediately to go in defence of their 



BIOGRAPHY.— MADAME SCHUYLER. 323 

wives and cliildren. This they believed, and readily 
obeyed; and, as soon as the Indians were gone, he sent 
to the French, and supplied them with provisions and 
other necessaries to cany them back. 

" The French governor, in order to reward so signal a 
service, invited Corlear to Canada; but, as he went 
through the great lake, which lies to the northward of 
Albany, his canoe was overset, and he was drowned; and, 
from this accident, that lake has ever since been called 
Corlear's lake, by the people of New York. 

" There is a I'ock in this lake, on which the waves 
dash and fly up to a great height, when the wind blows 
hard. The Indians believe that an old Indian lives 
under this rock, who has the power of the winds; and, 
therefore, as they pass it, in their voyages over, they 
always throw a pipe or some other small present to this 
old Indian, and pray a favorable wind. The English that 
pass with them, sometimes laugh at them ; but they are 
sure to be told of Corlear's death. ' Your great country- 
man, Corlear, (say they.) as he passed by this rock, jested 
at our fathers making presents to this old Indian ; but 
this affront cost him his life.' " 



Reading Lesson CXLVII. 

MADAME CATALINA SCHUYLER, 

Niece and daughter-in-law of the first colonel Philip 
Schuyler, wife of the second o£ the same name and title, 
and aunt of the revolutionary general of the same name, 
was born at Albany, in the year 1701. This noble speci- 
men of female character, eminent throughout the world, 
for her intelli<^ence, worth, and loveliness, was scarcely 
rnore fortunate in the almost princely position which she 
bccupied in hfe, than in the circumstance of having found 
a bioo-rapher in Mrs. Grant, whose faithful portrait of her 
benevolent patroness will form one of the most durable 
monuments ever erected to human excellence. 

From the modest and unpretending work of Mrs. Grant, 
" Memoirs of an American lady," we have selected some 
of the most interesting particulars regarding Mrs. Schuy- 
ler, at the three characteristic stages of early, mature, and 
declining life. The simplicity and beauty of the author's 



324 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXLVU. 

Style render her book peculiarly suitable for our purpose 
of presenting to young readers interesting ideas of char- 
acter, as well as incident and scenery, in connection with 
their native state. 

Mrs. Grant gives us this account of the ancestral origin 
of Mrs. Schuyler. 

" From the time of the great rebellion, so many En- 
glish refugees frequented Holland, that the language and 
mannei's of our country became familiar at the Hague, 
pai'ticularly among the Stadtholder's party. When the 
province of New York fell under the British dominion, it 
became necessary that everybody should learn our lan- 
guage, as all public business was carried on in the En- 
glish tongue, which they did the more willingly, as, after 
the revolution, the accession of the Stadtholder to the 
English crown very much reconciled them to our govern- 
ment. Still, however, the English was a kind of court 
language; little spoken, and imperfectly understood, in 
the interior. Those wlio carried over with them the 
French and English languages soon acquired a sway over 
their less enlightened fellow-settlers. Of this number 
were the Schuylers and Cuylers, two families among 
whom intellect of the superior kind seemed an inherit- 
_ance-, and whose intelligence and liberality of mind, forti- 
fied by well-grounded principle, carried them far beyond 
the petty and narrow views of the rest. 

" Habituated, at home, to centre all wisdom and all 
happiness in commercial advantages, they would have 
been very ill-qualified to lay iVie foundation of an infant 
state, in a country that afforded plenty and content, as the 
reward of industry, but where the very nature of the ter- 
ritory, as well as the state of society, precluded great 
pecuniary acquisitions. Their object here was to tame 
savage nature, and to make the boundless wild subser- 
vient to agricultural purposes. Commercial pursuits 
were a distant prospect ; and before they became of con- 
sequence, rural habits had greatly changed the character 
of these republicans. But the commercial spirit, inherent 
in all true Batavians, only slept to wake again, when 
the avidity of gain was called forth by the temptation of 
bartering fi)r any lucrative commodity. The furs of the 
Indians gave this occasion, and were too soon made the 
object of the avidity of petty traders. 



BIOGRAPHY.— MADAME SCHFVLER. 325 

" To the infant settlement at Albany the consequences 
of this short-sighted policy might have proved fatal, had 
not these patriotic leaders, by their example and influ- 
ence, checked, for a V4^hile, such illiberal and dangerous 
practices. It is a fact, singular and worth attending to, 
from the lesson it exhibits, that, in all our distant colonies, 
there is no other instance where a considerable town and 
prosperous settlement has arisen and flourished, in peace 
and safety, in the midst of nations disposed and often pro- 
voked to hostility, at a distance from the protection of 
ships, and from the only fortified city, which, always 
weakly garrisoned, was little fitted to awe and protect 
the whole province. Let it be remembered that the dis- 
tance from New York to Albany is 170 miles ; and that 
in the intermediate space, at the period of which I speak, 
there was not one town or fortified place. The shadow 
of a palisadoed fort, which then existed at Albany, was 
occupied by a single independent company, who did 
duty, but were dispersed through the town, working at 
various trades : so scarce, indeed, were artisans in this 
community, that a tradesman might, in these days, ask any 
wages he chose. 

"To return to this settlement, which evidently owed its 
security to the wisdom of its leaders, who always acted 
on the simple maxim that honesty is the best policy ; sev- 
eral miles north from Albany, a considerable possession, 
called the Flats, was inhabited by colonel Philip Schuy- 
ler, one of the most enlightened men in the province. 
This being a frontier, he would have found it a very dan- 
gerous situation, had he not been a person of singular 
worth, fortitude, and wisdom. If I were not afraid of 
tiring my reader with a detail of occurrences which, taking 
place before the birth of my friend, might seem irrelevant 
to the present purpose, I could relate many instances, 
almost incredible, of the power of mind displayed by this 
gentleman in governing the uninstructed, without coercion 
or leo-al right. He possessed this species of power in no 
common degree ; his influence, with that of his brother, 
John Schuyler, was exerted to conciliate the wandering 
tribes of Indians ; and by fair traffic, (for he too was a 
trader,) and by fair, liberal dealing, they attained their ob- 
ject. They also strengthened the league already formed 
with the five Mohawk nations, by procuring for them 



326 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXLVIIL 

some assistance against their enemies, the Onondagoes of 
the Lakes. 

" It may easily be supposed that such a mind as colonel 
Schuyler's was equally fitted to acquire and to communi- 
cate intelligence. He who had conversed with Addison, 
Marlborough, and Godolphin, who had gratified the curi- 
osity of Oxford and Bolingbroke, of Arbuthnot and of 
Gay, with accounts of nature in her pristine garb, and of 
her children in their primitive simplicity ;* he who could 
do all this, no doubt received ample returns of various 
information from those best qualified to give it ; he was, 
besides, a diligent observer. Here he improved a taste 
for literature, native to him ; for it had not yet taken root 
in this uncultivated soil. He brought home the Specta- 
tor and the tragedy of Cato, Windsor Forest, Young's 
poem on the Last Day, and, in short, all the works, then 
published, of that constellation of wits which distinguished 
the last female reign. Nay more, and better, he brought 
Paradise Lost ; which, in after-times, afforded such de- 
light to some branches of his family, that to them 

' Paradise (iudeed) seemed opened in the wild.' " 

Reading Lesson CXLVIIL 

Life of Madame Schuyler, continued. 

"When colonel Schuyler returned from England, about 
the year 1709, his niece Catalina, the subject of this nar- 
rative, was about seven years old ; he had a daughter and 
sons, yet this child was early distinguished above the rest 
for docility, a great desire of knowledge, and an even and 
pleasing temper ; this her uncle had early observed. It 
was, at that time, very difficult to procure the means of 
instruction in those inland districts ; female education, of 
consequence, was conducted on a very limited scale ; 
girls learned needlework, (in which they were indeed 
both skilful and ingenious,) from their mothers and aunts; 
they were taught, too, at that period to read, in Dutch, 
the Bible, and a few Calvinistic tracts of the devotional 
kind. But, in the infancy of the settlement, few girls read 

* Allusion is here made to colonel Schuyler's visit to England, 
when he was attended by several chiefs of the Five Nations, — as 
mentioned in the history. 



BIOGRAPHY.— MADAME SCHUYLER. 327 

English ; when they did, they were thought accomplished ; 
they generally spoke it, however imperfectly, and few 
were taught writing. This confined education precluded 
elegance ; yet, though there was no polish, there was no 
vulgai'ity. 

" The dregs of the people, who subside to the bottom 
of the mass, are not only degraded by abject poverty, but 
so utterly shut out from intercourse with the more en- 
lightened, and so rankled with envy from a consciousness 
of the exclusion, that a sense of their condition gradually 
debases their minds ; and this degradation communicates 
to their manners the vulgarity of which we complain. This 
more particularly applies to the lower classes in towns ; 
for mere simplicity, or even a rustic bluntness, I would 
by no means call vulgarity. 

" At the same time, these unembellished females had 
more comprehension of mind, more variety of ideas, more, 
in short, of what may be called original thinking, than 
could easily be imagined. Their thoughts were not like 
those of other illiterate women, occupied by the ordinary 
, details of the day, and the gossiping tattle of the neigh- 
borhood. The life of new settlers, in a situation like this, 
where the very foundations of society were to be laid, was 
. a life of exigences. Every individual took an interest in 
the general welfare : all contributed their respective 
shares of intelligence and sagacity, to aid plans that em- 
braced important objects relative to the common good. 
Every day called forth some new expedient, in which the 
comfort or advantage of the whole was implicated ; for 
there were no degrees but those assigned to worth and 
intellect. 

" This singular community seemed to have a common 
stock, not only of sufferings and enjoyments, but of in- 
formation and ideas; some preeminence, in point of 
knowledge and abilities, there certainly was, yet those 
who possessed it seemed scarcely conscious of their su- 
periority; the daily occasions which called forth the exer- 
tions of mind, sharpened sagacity, and strengthened char- 
acter ; avarice and vanity were there confined to very 
narrow limits ; of money there was little ; and dress was, 
, though in some instances valuable, very plain, and not 
I'l subject to the caprice of fashion. The wolves, the bears, 
(f and the enraged or intoxicated savages, that always hung 



328 NEW-YORk CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXLVIIl. 

threatening on their boundaries, made them more and 
more endeared to each other. 

" In this calm infancy of society, the rigor of law slept, 
because the fury of turbulent passions had not awakened 
it. Fashion, that capricious tyrant over adult cornmuni- 
ties, had not erected her standard ; that standard, to 
which the looks, the language, the very opinions of her 
subjects must be adjusted. Yet no person appeared un- 
couth, or ill-bred, because there was no accomplished 
standard of comparison. They viewed no superior with 
fear or envy, and treated no inferior with contempt or 
cruelty ; servility and insolence were thus equally un- 
known. Perhaps they were less solicitous either to please 
or to shine, than the members of more polished societies ; 
because, in the first place, they had no motive either to 
dazzle or deceive ; and, in the next, had they attempted it, 
they felt there was no assuming a character with success, 
where their native one was so well known. 

" Their manners, if not elegant and polished, were, at 
least, easy and independent ; the constant efforts necessary 
to extend their commercial and agricultural possessions, 
prevented indolence ; and industry was the certain path 
to plenty. Surrounded, on all sides, by those whom the 
least instance of fraud, insolence, or grasping meanness, 
would have rendered irreconcilable enemies, they were 
at first obliged to * assume a viitue if they had it not ;' and 
every circumstance that renders virtue habitual, may be 
accounted a happy one. I may be told that the virtues I 
describe were chiefly those of situation. I acknowledge 
it. It is no more to be expected that this equality, sim- 
plicity, and moderation, should continue in a more ad- 
vanced state of society, than that the sublime tranquillity 
and dewy freshness, which adds a nameless charm to the 
face of nature in the dawn of a summer morning, should 
continue all day. Before increased wealth and extended 
territory, these ' wassel days' quickly receded ; yet it is 
pleasing to indulge the remembrance of a spot, where 
peace and felicity, the result of moral excellence, dwelt 
undisturbed for, — alas ! hardly for, — a century." 



BIOGRAPHY— MADAME SCHUYLER. 329 

Reading Lesson CXLIX. 
Life of Madame Schuyler, continued. 

" Having given a sketch, which appears to my recol- 
lection, aided by subsequent conversations with my fellow- 
travellers, a faithful one, of the country and its inhabitants, 
it is time to return to the history of the mind of Miss Schuy- 
ler ; for by no other circumstances than prematurity of in- 
tellect, and superior culture, were her earliest years dis- 
tinguished. Her father, dying eai'ly, left her very much 
to the tuition of his brother. Her uncle's frontier situa- 
tion made a kind of barrier to the settlement; while the 
powerful influence that his knowledge of nature and of 
character, his sound judgment and unstained integrity, 
had obtained over both parties, made him the bond by 
which the aborigines were united with the colonists. 
Thus, little leisure was left him for domestic enjoyments, 
or literary pursuits, for both of which his mind was pecu- 
liarly adapted. Of the leisure he could command, how- 
ever, he made the best use ; and soon distinguishing 
Catalina as the one among his family to whom nature had 
been most liberal, he was at pains to cultivate her taste 
for reading, — which soon discovered itself, — by procuring 
for her the best authors in history, divinity, and the belles 
lettres : in this latter branch, her reading was not very 
extensive ; but then, the few books of this kind that she 
possessed were very well chosen, and she was early and 
intimately familiar with them. 

" What I remember of her, assisted by comparisons 
since made with others, has led me to think that extensive 
reading, superficial and indiscriminate, such as the very 
easy access to books among us encourages, is not, at an 
early period of life, favorable to solid thinking, true taste, 
or fixed principle. Whatever she knew, she knew to the 
bottom ; and the reflections which were thus suggested to 
her strong discerning mind, were digested by means of 
easy and instructive conversation. 

" Colonel Schuyler had many relations in New York ; 
and the governor and other ruling characters there care- 
fully cultivated the acquaintance of a person so well 
qualified to instruct and inform them on certain points. 
Having considerable dealings in the fur trade too, he 



330 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXLIX. 

went, every winter, to the capital, for a short time, to ad- 
just his commercial concerns, and often took his favorite 
niece along with him, who, being of an uncommonly quick 
growth and tall stature, soon attracted attention by her 
personal graces, as well as by the charms of her conversa- 
tion. I have been told, and should conclude, from a picture 
I have seen, drawn when she was fifteen, that she was, in 
her youth, very handsome. Of this few traces remained 
when I knew her; excessive corpulence having then over- 
loaded her majestic person, and entirely changed the aspect 
of a countenance once eminently graceful. 

" In no place did female excellence of any kind more 
amply receive its due tribute of applause and admiration 
than here, for various reasons. First, cultivation and re- 
finement were rare. Then it was not the common routine 
that women should necessarily have such and such accom- 
plishments; pains were taken only on minds strong enough 
to bear improvement without becoming conceited or pe- 
dantic. And lastly, as the spur of emulation was not in- 
vidiously applied, those who acquired a superior degree of 
knowledge, considered themselves as very fortunate in 
having a new source of enjoyment opened to them. But 
never having been made to understand that the chief 
motive of excelling was to dazzle or outshine others, they 
no more thought of despising their less fortunate com- 
panions, than of assuming preeminence for discovering a 
wild plum-tree or bee-hive in the woods, though, as in the 
former case, they would have regarded such a discovery 
as a benefit and a pleasure ; their acquisitions, therefore, 
were never shaded by affectation. 

" The women wei-e all natives of the country, and few 
had more than domestic education. But men who pos- 
sessed the advantages of early culture and usage of the 
world, daily arrived on the continent, from different parts 
of Europe. So that, if we may be indulged in the inele- 
gant liberty of talking commercially of female elegance, 
the supply was not equal to the demand. It may be 
easily supposed that Miss Schuyler met with due atten- 
tion ; who, even at this early age, was respected for the 
strength of her character, and the dignity and composure 
of her manners. 

" Her mother, whom she delighted to recollect, was 
mild, pious, and amiable ; her acknowledged worth was. 



BIOGRAPHY.— MADAME SCHUYLER. 331 

chastened by the utmost diffidence. Yet accustomed to 
exercise a certain power over the minds of the natives, 
she had great influence in restraining their irregularities, 
and swaying their opinions. From her knowledge of 
their language, and habit of conversing with them, some 
detached Indian families resided, for a while, in summer, 
in the vicinity of houses occupied by the more wealthy 
and benevolent inhabitants. They generally built a slight 
wigwam under shelter of the orchard-fence on the shadi- 
est side ; and never were neighbors more harmless, peace- 
able, and obliging, — I might truly add, industrious ; — for 
in one way or other they were constantly occupied. 

" The women and their children employed themselves 
in many ingenious handicrafts, which since the introduc- 
tion of European arts and manufactures, have greatly de- 
clined. Baking trays, wooden dishes, ladles and spoons, 
shovels and rakes ; brooms of a peculiar manufacture, 
made by splitting a birch-block into slender but tough fila- 
ments ; baskets of all kinds and sizes, made of similar 
filaments, enriched with the most beautiful colors, which 
they alone knew how to extract from vegetable substances, 
and incorporate with the wood. They made, also, of the 
n birch-bark, — which is here so strong and tenacious, that 
I cradles and canoes are made of it, — many receptacles 
for holding fruit and other things, curiously adorned with 
embroidery, not inelegant, done with the sinews of deer; 
and leggings and moccasins, — a very comfortable and 
highly ornamental substitute for shoes and stockings, then 
universally used, in winter, among the men of our own 
people. They had, also, a beautiful manufacture of deer- 
skin, softened to the consistence of the finest chamois 
leather, and embroidered with beads of wampum, formed 
like bugles; these, with great art and industry, they 
formed out of shells, which had the appearance of fine 
white porcelain, veined with purple. This embroidery 
I showed both skill and taste, and was, among themselves, 
highly valued. They had belts, large embroidered gar- 
Jters, and many other ornaments, formed, first of deer 
sinews, divided to the size of coarse thread, and after- 
wards, when they obtained worsted thread from us, of 
that matei'ial, formed in a manner which I could never 
comprehend. It was neither knitted nor wrought in the 
manner of net, nor yet woven ; but the texture was more 



332 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXLIX. 

like that of an officer's sash than anything I can com- 
pare it to. 

*' While the women and children were thus employed, 
the men sometimes assisted them in the more laborious 
part of their business, but oftener occupied themselves in 
fishing on the rivers, and drying or preserving, by means 
of smoke, in sheds erected fbr the purpose, sturgeon and 
large eels, which they caught in great quantities, and of 
an extraordinary size, for winter provision. 

" Boys on the verge of manhood, and ambitious to be 
admitted into the hunting parties of the ensuing winter, 
exercised themselves in trying to improve their skill in 
archery, by shooting birds, squirrels, and raccoons. These 
petty huntings helped to support the little colony in the 
neighborhood, which, however, derived its principal sub- 
sistence from an exchange of their manufactures with the 
neighboring family, for milk, bread, and other articles of 
food. 

" The summer residence of these ingenious artisans 
promoted a great intimacy between the females of the 
vicinity and the Indian women, whose sagacity and com 
prehension of mind were beyond belief. 

" It is a singular circumstance, that though they saw the 
negroes, in every respectable family, not only treated with 
humanity, but cherished with parental kindness, they al 
ways regarded them with contempt and dislike, as an 
inferior race, and would have no communication with 
them. It was necessaiy, then, that all conversations should 
he held, and all business transacted with these females, 
by the mistress of the family. In the infancy of the set 
tlement, the Indian language was familiar to the more in^ 
telligent inhabitants, who found it very useful, and were, 
no doubt, pleased with its nervous and emphatic idiom, 
and its lofty and sonorous cadence. It was indeed a noble 
and copious language, when one considers that it served 
as the vehicle of thought to a people whose ideas and; 
sphere of action we should consider as so very confined. 

" Conversation with these interesting and deeply rer' 
fleeting natives, was, to thinking minds, no mean source 
of entertainment." 



BIOGRAPHY.— MADAME SCHUYLER. 333 

Reading Lesson CL. 

Life of Madame Schuyler, continued. 

" This digression, long as it is, has a very intimate con- 
nection with the character of my friend ; she early adopted 
the views of her family, in regard to those friendly Indians, 
which greatly enlarged her mind, and, ever after, influenced 
her conduct. She was, even in childhood, well acquainted 
with their language, opinions, and customs; and, like every 
other person possessed of a liberality or benevolence of 
mind, whom chance had brought acquainted with them, 
was exceedingly partial to those high-souled and generous 
natives. The Mohawk language was early familiar to her; 
she spoke Dutch and English with equal ease and purity; 
was no stranger to the French tongue ; and could, I think, 
read German. I have heard her speak it. From the con- 
versations which her active curiosity led her to hold with 
native Africans, brought into her father's family, she was 
more intimately acquainted with the customs, manners, 
and government of their native country, than she could 
have been by reading all that was ever written on the 
subject. 

" Books are, no doubt, the granaries of knowledge ; but 
a diligent, inquiring mind, in the active morning of life, 
will find it strewed like manna over the face of the earth ; 
and need not, in all cases, rest satisfied with intelligence 
accumulated by others, and tinctured with their passions' 
and prejudices. Whoever reads Homer or Shakspeare 
may daily discover that they describe both nature and art 
from their own observation. Consequently, you see the 
images, reflected from the mirror of their great minds, 
differing from the descriptions of others, as the reflection 
5f an object in all its colors and proportions from any pol- 
shed surface, does from a shadow on a wall, or from a 
picture drawn from recollection. 

" The enlarged mind of my friend, and her simple yet 
?asy and dignified manners, made her readily adapt her- 
,;elf to those with whom she conversed, and everywhere 
i command respect and kindness ; and, on a nearer ac- 
'luaintance, affection followed ; but she had too much 
\ edateness and independence to adopt those caressing and 
Insinuating manners, by which the vain and the artful so 



334 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CL. 

soon find their way into shallow minds. Her character 
did not captivate at once, but gradually unfolded itself; 
and you had always something new to discover. Her 
style was grave and masculine, without the least embel- 
lishment ; and, at the same time, so pure, that every thing 
she said might be printed without correction, and so plain, 
that the most ignorant and most inferior persons were 
never at a loss to comprehend it. It possessed, too, a 
wonderful flexibility ; it seemed to rise and fall with the 
subject. I have not met with a style which, to nolile 
and uniform simplicity, united such variety of expression. 
Whoever drinks knowledge pure at its sources, solely 
from a- delight in filling the capacities of a large mind, 
without the desire of dazzlino^ or outshiningr others ; who- 
ever speaks, for the sole purpose of conveying to other 
minds those ideas from which he himself has received 
pleasure and advantage, may possess this chaste and nat- 
ural style : but it is not to be acquired by art or study. 

" Miss Schuyler had the happiness to captivate her 
cousin Philip, eldest son of her uncle, who was ten years 
older than herself, and was, in all respects, to be account- 
ed a suitable, and, in the worldly sense, an advantageous 
match for her. His father was highly satisfied to have 
the two objects on whom he had bestowed so much care 
and culture, united. They were married in the year 1719, 
when she was in the eighteenth year of her age. When 
the old colonel died, he left considerable possessions to 
be divided among his children ; and from the quantity of 
plate, paintings, &c., which they shared, there is reason 
to believe he must have brought some of his wealth 
from Holland ; as, in those days, people had little means 
of enriching themselves in new settlements. He had also 
considerable possessions in a place near the town now 
called Fishkill, about twenty miles below Albany. His 
family residence, however, was at the Flats, a fertile and 
beautiful plain on the banks of the river. He possessed 
about two miles, on a stretch, of that rich and level cham-, 
paign. 

"This possession was bounded, on the east, by the river 
Hudson, whose high banks overhung the streain and its 
pebbly strand, and were both adorned and defended by 
elms, larger than ever I have seen in any other place, 
decked with natural festoons of wild grapes, which abound 



f 



BIOGRAPHY.— MADAME SCHUYLER. 335 

along the banks of this noble stream. These lofty elms 
were left, when the country was cleared, to fortify the 
banks against the masses of thick ice, which make war 
upon them in spring, when the melting snows burst this 
glassy pavement, and raise the waters many feet above 
their usual level. This precaution not only answers that 
purpose, but gratifies the mind, by presenting to the eye 
a remnant of the wild magnificence of nature, amidst the 
smiling scenes produced by varied and successful cultiva- 
tion. 

"As you came along by the north end of the town, 
where the ' patroon' had his seat, you afterwards passed 
by the enclosures of the citizens, — where, as formerly de- 
scribed, they planted their corn, — and arrived at the Flats, 
colonel Schuyler's possession. On the right, you saw the 
river in all its beauty, there above a mile broad. On the 
opposite side, the view was bounded by steep hills, cov- 
ered with lofty pines, from which a waterfall descended, 
which not only gave animation to the sylvan scene, but 
was the best barometer imaginable, foretelling, by its va- 
ried and intelligible sounds, every approaching change, 
not only of the weather, but of the wind. 

" Opposite to the grounds lay an island, above a mile in 
length, and about a quarter in breadth, which also be- 
longed to the colonel ; exquisitely beautiful it was ; and 
though the haunt I most delighted in, it is not in my 
power to describe it. Imagine a little Egypt, yearly over- 
flowed, and of the most redundant fertility. This charm- 
ing spot was at first covered with wood, like the rest of 
the country, except a long field in the middle, where the 
Indians had probably cultivated maize ; round this was a 
broad shelving border, where the gray and weeping wil- 
lows, the bending osier, and numberless aquatic plants, 
not known in England, were allowed to flourish in the 
utmost luxuriance, while within, some tall sycamores and 
wild fruit-trees towered above the rest. Thus was formed 
a broad belt, which, in winter, proved an impenetrable 
barrier against the broken ice, and, in summer, was the 
haunt of numberless birds and small animals, which dwelt 
in perfect safety ; it being impossible to penetrate it. 

" Numberless were the productions of this luxuriant 
ispot ; never was a richer field for a botanist; for, though 
the ice was kept off, the turbid waters of the* spring flood 



336 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLI. 

overflowed it annually, and not only deposited a rich sedi- 
ment, but left the seeds of various plants swept from the 
shores it had passed by. The centre of the island, which' 
was much higher than the sides, produced, with a slight 
degree of culture, the most abundant crops of wheat, hay, 
and flax." 

Reading Lesson CLI. 

Life of Madame Schuyler, continued. 

" At the end of the island, which was exactly opposite 
to the family mansion, a long sand-bank extended ; on this 
was a very valuable fishing-place, of which a considerable 
profit might be made. In summer, when the water was 
low, this narrow stripe, — for such it was, — came in sight, 
and furnished an amusing spectacle ; for there the bald 
or white-headed eagle, — a large picturesque bird, very fre- 
quent in this country, — the ospray, the heron, and the cur- 
lew, used to stand in great numbers, in a long row, like 
a military arrangement, for a whole summer day, fishing 
for perch and a kind of fresh-water herring which abound- 
ed there. At the same season, a variety of wild ducks, 
which bred on the shores of the island, among which was 
a small white diver, of an elegant form, led forth their 
young to try their first excursion. 

" AVhat a scene have I beheld on a calm summer 
evening ! There indeed were ' fringed banks,' richly 
fringed, and wonderfully variegated; where every imagi- 
nable shade of color mingled, and where life teemed 
prolific on every side. The river, a perfect mirror, re- 
flected the pine-covered hills opposite ; and the pliant 
shades bent without a wind, round this enchanting island, 
while hundreds of the white divers, saw-bill ducks with 
scarlet heads, teal, and other aquatic birds, sported at 
once, on the calm waters. At the discharge o( a gun 
from the shore, these feathered beauties all disappeared 
at once, as if by magic, and, in an instant, rose again to 
view, in different places. 

" How much they seemed to enjoy that life which was 
so new to them ! — for they were the young broods first led 
forth to sport upon the waters; — while the fixed attitude 
and lofty port of the large birds of prey, that were ranged 
upon the sandy shelf, formed an inverted picture in the 
same clear mirror, and were a pleasing contrast to the 



BIOGRAPHY.-MADAME SCHUYLER. 337 

playful multitude around. These they never attempted 
to disturb, well aware of the facility of escape which 
their old retreats afforded them. Such of my readers 
as have had patience to follow me to this favorite isle, will 
be, ere now, as much bewildered as I have often been on 
its luxuriant shores. 

" To return to the southward ; on the confines of what 
might then be called an interminable wild, rose two gently 
sloping eminences, about half a mile from the shore. 
From each of these a large brook descended, bending 
through the plain, and having its course marked by the 
shades of primeval trees and shrubs, left there to shelter 
the cattle when the ground was cleared. On these emi- 
nences, in the near neighborhood and full view of the man- 
sion at the Flats, were two large and well-built dwellings, 
inhabited by colonel Schuyler's two younger sons, Peter 
and Jeremiah. To the elder was allotted the place inhab- 
ited by his father, which, from its lower situation and 
level surface, was called the Flats. There was a custom 
prevalent among the new settlers, something like that of 
gavel-kind ; they made a pretty equal division of lands 
among their younger sons. The eldest, by preeminence 
of birth, had a larger share, and generally succeeded to 
the domain inhabited by his father, with the slaves, cattle, 
and effects upon it. 

" This, in the present instance, was the lot of the eldest 
son of that family whose possessions I have been describ- 
ing. His portion of land on the shore of the river, was 
scarcely equal in value to those of his brothers, to whose 
possessions the brooks I have mentioned formed a natural 
boundary, dividing them from each other, and from his. 
To him was allotted the costly furniture of the family, of 
which paintings, plate, and china, constituted the valuable 
part ; every thing else being merely plain and useful. They 
had also, a large house in Albany, which they occupied 
occasionally. 

" I have neglected to describe, in its right place, the 
termination or background of the landscape I have such 
delight in recollecting. There the solemn and inter- 
minable forest was varied at intei'vals by rising grounds, 
near streams where birch and hickory, maple and poplar, 
cheered the eye with a lighter green, through the pre- 
vailing shade of dusky pines. On the border of the 

P 



333 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLU. 

wood, where the trees had been thinned for firing, was a 
broad shrubbery, all alung, which marked the edges of the 
wood above the possessions of the brothers, as far as it 
extended. 

" This was formed of sumach, a shrub with leaves, con- 
tinually changing color, through all the varieties, from 
blending green and yellow, to orange tawny, and adorned 
with large lilach-shaped clusters of bright scarlet grains, 
covered with pungent dust of a sharp flavor, at once saline 
and acid. This the Indians use as salt to their food, and 
for the dyeing of different colors. The red glow, which 
was the general result of this natural border, had a fine 
effect, thrown out from the dusky shades which towered 
behind. 

" To the northward, a sandy tract, covered with low 
pines, formed a boundary betwixt the Flats and Stone- 
hook, which lay farther up the river." 

Reading Lesson CLII. 
Life of Madame Schuyler, continued. 

" Philip Schuyler, who, on the death of his father, suc- 
ceeded to the inheritance I have been describing, was a 
person of a mild, benevolent character, and an excellent 
understanding, which had received more culture than was 
usual in that country. But whether he had returned to 
Europe for the purpose of acquiring knowledge in the 
public seminaries there, or had been instructed by any 
French protestants, who were sometimes retained in the 
principal families for such purposes, I do not exactly 
know ; but am led rather to suppose the latter, from the 
connection which always subsisted between that class of 
people and the Schuyler family. 

" When the intimacy between this gentleman and the 
subject of these memoirs took place, she was a mere 
child ; for the colonel, as he was soon after called, was 
ten years older than she. This was singular there, where . 
most men married under twenty. But his early years 
were occupied by momentous concerns ; for, by this time, 
the public safety began to be endangered by the insidious 
wiles of the French Canadians, to whom our frontier set- 
tlers began to be formidable rivals in the fur-trade, which 
the former wished to engross. 



II 



BIOGRAPHY.-MADAME SCHUYLER. 33g 

" Colonel Schuyler and his two brothers all possessed 
a superior degree of intellect, and uncommon external 
advantages. Peter, the only one remaining when I knew 
the family, was still a comely and dignified-lookincr old 
gentleman; and I was told his brothers were at least 
equal to him in this respect. His youngest brother Jer- 
emiah who was much beloved for -a disposition frank 
cheerful and generous to excess, had previously mamed 
a lady from New York, with whom he obtained some 
toitune : a thing then singular in that country This 
lady, whom, in her declining years, I knew very well 
was the daughter of a wealthy and distinguished family 
ot JH rench protestants. She was lively, sensible, and well 
miormed. 

" Peter, the second, was married to a native of Albany 
bhe died early ; but left behind two children, and the rep- 
utation of much worth, and great attention to her conju- 
gal and maternal duties. All these relations lived with 
each other, and with the new-married lady, in habits of 
the most cordial intimacy and perfect confidence. They 
seemed, indeed, actuated by one spirit: havin<r in all 
things, similar views and similar principles. Lookino- up 
to the colonel as the head of the family, whose wortirand 
affluence reflected consequence upon them all, they never 
dreamed of envying either his superior manners, or his 
wite s attainments, which they looked upon as a benefit 
and ornament to the whole. 

"Soon after their marriage, they paid a visit to New 
York winch they repeated once a year, in the earlier 
period of their marriage, on account of their connection 
m that city, and the pleasing and intelligent society that 
was alvvays to be met with there, both on account of its 
being the seat of government, and the residence of the 
commander-in-chief on the continent, who was then ne- 
cessarily invested with considerable power and privileges 
and had, as well as the governor for the time being a pet- 
ty court assembled round him. At a very early period a 
better style of manners, .greater ease, frankness, and polish 
prevailed at New York, than in any of the neighborincr 
provinces. There was, in particular, a brigadier-general 
Hunter,* of whom I have heard Mrs. Schuyler talk a great 
deal, as coinciding with her uncle and husband successively, 
* Governor Hunter. 



340 xNEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CLII. 

in their plans either of defence or improvement. He, I 
think, was the governor, and vi^as as acceptable to the 
Schuylers, for his colloquial talents and friendly disposition, 
as estimable for his public spirit and application to busi- 
ness, in which respects he was not equalled by any of his 
successors. In his circle, the young couple were much 
distinguished. 

" There were, too, among those leading families, the 
Livingstons and Rensselaers, friends connected with them 
both by blood and attachment. There was also another 
distinguished family to whom they were allied, and with 
whom they lived in cordial intimacy ; these were the De 
Lanceys, of French descent, but, by subsequent intermar- 
riages, blended with the Dutch inhabitants. Of the French 
protestants there were many then in New York, as will be 
hereafter explained ; but as these conscientious exiles were 
persons allied in religion to the primitive settlers, and 
regular and industrious in their habits, they soon mingled 
with, and became a part of, that society which was enli- 
vened by their sprightly manners, and benefited by the 
useful ai-ts they brought along with them. 

" In this mixed society, which must have had attraction 
for young people of superior and, in some degree, culti- 
vated intellect, this well-matched pair took great pleasure ; 
and here, no doubt, was improved that liberality of mind 
and manners which so much distinguished them from the 
less enlightened inhabitants of their native city. They 
were so much caressed in New York, and found so many 
charms in the intelligent and comparatively polished so- 
ciety of which they made a part, that they had, at first, 
some thoughts of residing there. These, however, soon \ 
gave way to the persuasions of the old colonel, with M^hom i 
they principally resided till his death, which happened in! 
1721, two years after. This union was productive of all 
that felicity which might be expected to result from entire 
congeniality, not of sentiment only, but of original disposi- 
tions, attachments, and modes of living and thinking. He 1 
had been accustomed to consider her, as a child, with ten- 1 
der endearment. She had been used to look up to him, 
from infancy, as the model of manly excellence; and they 
drew knowledge and virtue from the same fountain, in thei 
mind of that respectable parent whom they equally loved 
and revered." 



BIOGRAPIIV.-MADAME SCHUYLER. 341 

Reading Lesson CLIII. 
Life of Madame Schuyler, continued. 

" A mind elevated by the consciousness of its own 
powers, and enlarged by the habitual exercise of them, 
for the great purpose of promoting the good of others, 
yields to the pressure of calamity, but sinks not under it; 
particularly when habituated, like these exalted charac- 
ter's, to look through the long vista of futurity, towards the 
final accomplishment of the designs of Providence.* Like 
a diligent gardener, who, when his promising young plants 
are blasted in full strength and beauty, though he feels 
extremely for their loss, does not sit down in idle chagrin, 
but redoubles his efforts to train up their successors to the 
same degree of excellence. Considering the large family 
Madame always had about her, of which she was the 
guiding star as well as the informing soul, and the inno- 
cent cheerfulness which she encouraged and enjoyed ; 
considering, too, the number of interesting guests whom 
she received, and that complete union of minds which 
made her enter so intimately into all the colonel's pur- 
suits, it may be wondered how she found time for solid 
and improving reading ; because people whose time is so 
much occupied in business and society, are apt to relax, 
with amusing trifles of the desultory kind, when they 
have odd half hours to bestow on litei'ary amusements. 
But her strong and indefatigable mind never loosened its 
grasp ; ever intent on the useful and the noble, she found 
little leisure for what are indeed the greatest objects of 
feeble chai-acters. 

" After the middle of life she went little out ; her house- 
hold, long since arranged by certain general rules, went 
regularly on, because every domestic knew exactly the 
duties of his or her place, and dreaded losing it, as the 
greatest possible misfortune. She had always with her 
some young person, ' who was unto her as a daughter ;' 
who was her friend and companion ; and bred up in such 
a manner as to qualify her for being such ; and one of 
whose duties it was to inspect the state of the household, 
and 'report progress,' with regard to the operations going 

* Reference is here made to the severe domestic afflictions expe- 
rienced, in her maturer years, by Madame Schuyler. 



342 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLIIL 

on in the various departments. For no one better under- 
stood, or more justly estimated, the duties of housewifery. 
Thus, those young females who had the happiness of being 
bred under her auspices, very soon became qualified to 
assist her, instead of encroaching much on her time. The 
example and conveisation of the family in which they 
lived, was to them a perpetual school for useful knowledge, 
and manners easy and dignified, though natural and art- 
less. They were not, indeed, embellished ; but then they 
were not deformed by aftectation, pretensions, or defective 
imitation of fashionable models of manners. They were 
not, indeed, bred up ' to dance, to dress, to roll the eye, or 
troll the tongue ;' yet they were not lectured into unnatural 
gravity, or frozen reserve. I have seen those of them who 
were lovely, gay, and animated, though, in the words of 
an old familiar lyric, 

' Without disguise or art, like flowers that grace the -wild, 
Their sweets they did impart whene'er they spoke or smiled.' 

" Aunt was a great manager of her time, and always 
contrived to create leisure hours for reading ; for that kind 
of conversation which is properly styled gossiping, she had 
the utmost contempt. Light, superficial reading, such as 
merely fills a blank in time, and glides over the mind with- 
out leaving an impression, was little known there; for few 
books crossed the Atlantic but such as were worth carry- 
ing so far for their intrinsic value. She was too much 
accustomed to have her mind occupied with objects of 
real weight and importance, to give it up to frivolous 
pursuits of any kind. 

" She began the morning with reading the Scriptures. 
They always breakfasted eai-ly, and dined two hours later 
than the primitive inhabitants, who always took that meal 
at twelve. This departure from the ancient custom was 
necessary in this family, to accommodate the great num- 
bers of British as well as strangers from New York, who 
were daily entertained at her liberal table. This arrange- 
ment gave her the advantage of a longer forenoon to dis- 
pose of. After breakfast she gave orders for the family 
details of the day, which, without a scrupulous attention 
to those minutiae which fell more properly under the no- 
tice of her young friends, she always regulated in the most 
judicious manner, so as to prevent all appearance of hur- 
ry and confusion. 



i 



BIOGRAPHY.-MADAME SCHUYLER. 343 

"There was such a rivahy among domestics, whose sole 
ambition was her favor, and who had been trained up from 
infancy, each to their several duties, that excellence in each 
department was the result both of habit and emulation ; 
while her young protegees were early taught the value 
and importance of good housewifery, and were sedulous 
m their attention to little matters of decoration and ele- 
gance, which her mind was too much engi-ossed to attend 
to ; so that her household affairs, ever well regulated, went 
on in a mechanical kind of progress, that seemed to en- 
gage little of her attention, though her vigilant and over- 
ruling mind set every spring of action in motion." 

Reading Lesson CLIV. 

Life of Madame Schuyler, continued. 

" Having thus easily and speedily arranged the details 
of the day, she retired to read in her closet, where she 
generally remained till about eleven; when, bein"- un- 
equal to distant walks, the colonel and she, and some of 
her elder guests, passed some of the hotter hours among 
those embowering shades of her garden, in which she took 
great pleasure. Here was their Lyceum; here questions 
m religion and morality, too weighty for table-talk, were 
leisurely and coolly discussed ; and plans of policy and 
various utility arranged. From this retreat they adjourned 
to the portico ; and while the colonel either retired to 
write, or went to give directions to his servants, she sat 
m this little tribunal, giving audience to new settlers, fol- 
lowers of the army left in hapless dependence, and others 
who wanted assistance or advice, or hoped she would in- 
tercede with the colonel for something more peculiarly in 
his way, he having great influence with the colonial gov- 
ernment. ° 

" At the usual hour her dinner-party assembled, which 
was generally a large one; and here I must digress from 
the detail of the day to observe, that, looking up, as I al- 
ways did to Madame, with admiring veneration, and having 
always heard her mentioned with unqualified applause, I 
look often back to think what defects or faults she could 
possibly have to rank with the sons and daughters of im- 
perfection, inhabiting this transitory scene of existence; 
well knowing, from subsequent observation of life, that 



344 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLIV. 

error is the unavoidable portion of humanity. Yet of this 
truism, to which every one will I'eadily subscribe, I can 
recollect no proof in my friend's conduct, unless the lux- 
ury of her table might be produced to confirm it. Yet 
this, after all, was but comparative luxury. There was 
more choice and selection, and perhaps more abundance 
at her table, than at those of the other primitive inhabi- 
tants ; yet how simple were her repasts compared with 
those which the luxury of the higher ranks in this country 
offer to provoke the sated appetite ! 

" Her dinner-party generally consisted of some of her 
intimate friends or near relations ; her adopted children, 
who were inmates for the time being ; and strangers, 
sometimes invited, merely as friendless travellers, on the 
score of hospitality, but often welcomed for some time, as 
stationary visitors, on account of worth or talents, that 
gave value to their society ; and, lastly, military guests, 
selected with some discrimination, on account of the young 
friends whom they wished not only to protect, but cultivate 
by an improving association. Conversation, here, was al- 
ways rational, generally instructive, and often cheerful. 

" The afternoon frequently brought with it a new set 
of guests. Tea was always drunk early here ; and, as I 
have formerly observed, was attended with so many petty 
luxuries of pastry, confectionary, &c., that it might well 
be accounted a meal, by those whose early and frugal din- 
ners had so long gone by. In Albany, it was customary, 
after the heat of the day was past, for the young people 
to go in parties of three or four, in open carriages, to drink 
tea at an hour or two's drive from home. The receiving 
and entertaining this sort of company, generally was the 
province of the younger part of the family ; and of those 
many came, in summer evenings, to the Flats, when tea, 
which was very early, was over. The young people, and 
those who were older, took their different walks, while 
Madame sat in her portico, engaged in what might com- 
paratively be called light reading — essays, biography, 
poetry, &;c., till the younger party set out on their return 
home, and her domestic friends rejoined her in her portico, 
where, in warm evenings, a slight repast was sometimes 
brought; but they more frequently shared the last, and 
most truly social meal within. 

"Winter made little difference in her mode of occupy- 



BIOGRAPHY.— MADAME SCHUYLER. 345 

ing her time. She then always retired to her closet, to 
read, at stated periods, 

" In conversation she certainly took delight, and pecu- 
liarly excelled ; yet did not in the least engross it, or seem 
to dictate. On the contrary, her thirst for knowledge was 
such, and she possessed such a peculiar talent for discover- 
ing the point of utility in all things, that from every one's 
discourse she extracted some information, on which the 
light of her mind was thrown in such a direction as made 
it turn to account. Whenever she laid down her book, she 
took up her knitting, which neither occupied her eyes nor 
attention, while it kept her fingers engaged ; thus setting 
an example of humble diligence to her young protegees. 
In this employment she had a kind of tender satisfaction ; 
as little children, reared in the family, were the only ob- 
jects of her care in this Tespect, For these, she constant- 
ly provided a supply of hosiery till they were seven years 
old ; and, after that, transferred her attention to some 
younger favorite. 

" In her earlier days, when her beloved colonel could 
share the gayeties of society, I have been told they both 
had a high relish for innocent mirth, and every species of 
humorous pleasantry ; but, in my time, there was a chast- 
ened gravity in his discourse, which, however, did not re- 
pulse innocent cheerfulness, though it dashed all manner 
of levity, and that flippancy which great familiarity some- 
times encourages among young people who live much to- 
gether. Had Madame, with the same good sense, the same 
high principle, and general benevolence towards young 
people, lived in society such as is to be met with in Brit- 
ain, the principle upon which she acted would have led 
her to encourage in such society more gayety and freedom 
of manners. As the regulated forms of life in Britain set 
bounds to the ease that accompanies good breeding, and 
refinement, generally diffused, supplies the place of native 
delicacy, where that is wanting, a certain decent freedom 
is both safe and allowable. But, amid the simplicity of 
primitive manners, those bounds are not so well defined. 
Under these circumstances, mirth is a romp, and humor 
a buffoon ; and both must be kept within strict limits." 

V* 



346 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CLV. 

Reading Lesson CLV. 
Life of Madame Schuyler, continued. 

" The Schuylers regarded the expedition against Ticon- 
deroga,* with a mixture of doubt and dismay; knowing 
too well, from the sad retrospect of former failures, how 
little valor and discipline availed where regular troops had 
to encounter with unseen foes, and with difficulties arising 
from the nature of the ground, for which military science 
afforded no remedy. Of general Abercrombie's worth 
and valor they had the highest opinion ; but they were 
doubtful of attacking an enemy so subtle and experienced 
on their own ground, in intrenchments ; and this, they fear- 
ed, he would have the temerity to attempt. 

" In the meantime, preparations were making for the 
assault. The troops were marched in detachments past 
the Flats ; and each detachment quartered, for a night, 
on the common, or in the offices. One of the first of these 
was commanded by Lee, of frantic celebrity, who after- 
wai'ds, in the American war, joined the opponents of gov- 
ernment, and was then a captain in the British service. 
Captain Lee had neglected to bring the customary war- 
rants for impressing horses and oxen, and procuring a 
supply of vai-ious necessaries, to be paid for by the agents 
of government, on showing the usual documents; he, how- 
ever, seized everything he wanted where he could most 
readily find it, as if he were in a conquered country ; and, 
not content with this violence, poured forth a volley of 
execrations on those who presumed to question his right 
of appropriating for his troops everything that could be 
serviceable to them: even Madame, accustomed to uni- 
versal respect, and to be considered as the friend and 
benefactress of the army, was not spared ; and the aids 
which she never failed to bestow on those whom she saw 
about to expose their lives for the general defence, were 
rudely demanded, or violently seized. 

" Never did the genuine Christianity of this exalted 
character shine more brightly than in this exigency ; her 
countenance never altered, and she used every argument 
to restrain the rage of her domestics, and the clamor of 

* Reference is made here to the expedition under general Aber- 
crombie, mentioned in the history. 



BIOGRAPHY.-MADAME SCHUYLER. 347 

her neighbors, who were treated in the same manner. 
Lee marched on, after having done all the mischief in his 
power, and was the next day succeeded by lord Howe, 
who was indignant upon hearing what had happened, and 
astonished at the calmness with which Madame bore the 
treatment she had received. She soothed him by telling 
him, that she knew too well the value of protection from a 
danger so imminent, to grow captious with her deliverers 
on account of a single instance of irregularity, and only 
regretted that they should have deprived her of her 
wonted pleasure, in freely bestowing whatever could ad- 
v*ance the service, or refresh the exhausted troops. They 
had a long and very serious conversation, that night. 

" In the morning, his lordship proposed setting out 
very early ; but, when he arose, he was astonished to find 
Madame waiting, and breakfast ready: he smiled, and 
said he would not disappoint her, as it was hard to say 
when he might again breakfast with a lady. Impressed 
with an unaccountable degree of concern about the fate 
of the enterprise in which he was embarked, she again 
repeated her counsels and her cautions ; and, when he 
was about to depart, embraced him with the affection 
of a mother, and shed many tears, — a weakness she did 
not often give way to. 

" Meantime, the best prepared and disciplined body 
of forces that had ever been assembled in America, were 
proceeding on an enterprise that, to the experience and 
'sagacity of the Schuylers, appeared a hopeless, or, at least, 
a very desperate one. A general gloom overspread the 
family ; this, at all times large, was now augmented by 
several of the relations both of the colonel and Madame, 
who had visited them, at that time, to be nearer the scene 
of action, and to get the readiest and most authentic intel- 
ligence ; for the apprehended consequence of a defeat 
was the pouring in of the French troops into the interior 
of the province ; in which case Albany might be aban- 
doned to the enraged savages attending the French army. 

" A few days after lord Howe's departure, in the after- 
noon, a man was seen coming on horseback from the north, 
galloping violently, without his hat. Pedrom, as he was 
iamiliarly called, the colonel's only surviving brother, was 
with her, and ran instantly to inquire, well knowing he 
rode express. The man galloped on, crying out that lord 



348 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK,— LESSO^r CLV. 

Howe was killed. The mind of our good aunt had been 
80 engrossed by her anxiety and fears for the event im- 
pending, and so impressed by the merit and magnanimity 
of her favorite hero, that her wonted firmness sunk under 
the stroke, and she broke out into bitter lamentations. 
This had such an effect on her friends and domestics, that 
shrieks and sobs of anguish echoed through every part of 
the house. Even those who were too young or too old to 
enter into the public calamity, were affected by the violent 
grief of aunt, who, in general, had too much self-command 
to let others witness her sorrows. Lord Howe was shot 
from behind a tree, probably by some Indian ; and the 
whole army were inconsolable for a loss they too well 
knew to be irreparable. This stroke, however, they soon 
found to be 'portent and pain, a menace and a blow;' 
but this dark prospect was cheered, for a moment, by a de- 
ceitful gleam of hope, which only added to the bitterness 
of disappointment. 

" The next day, they heard the particulars of the skirm- 
ish, for it could scarce be called a regular engagement, 
which had proved fatal to the young warrior, whose loss 
was so deeply felt. 

" Two thousand men were killed, wounded, or taken, 
on this disastrous day. On the next, those most danger- 
ously wounded were sent forward in boats, and reached 
the Flats before evening ; they, in a manner, brought, at 
least confirmed, the news of the defeat. Madame had her 
barn instantly fitted up into a temporary hospital, and a 
room in her house allotted for the surgeon who attended 
the patients ; among these was Lee, the same insolent and 
rapacious Lee, who had insulted this general benefactress, 
and deprived her of one of her greatest pleasures, that of 
giving a share of everything that she had, to advance the 
service. She treated him with compassion, without ad- 
verting, by the least hint, to the past. She tore up her 
sheets and table-linen for bandages ; and she and her 
nieces were constantly employed in attending and cheer- 
ing the wounded, while all her domestics were busied in 
preparing food and everything necessary for those un- 
happy sufferers. Even Lee felt and acknowledged the 
resistless force of such generous humanity. He swore, in 
his vehement manner, that he was sure there would be a 
place reserved for Madame in heaven, though no other 



BIOGRAPHY.— MADAME SCHUYLER. 349 

■woman should be there, and that he should wish for noth- 
ing better than to share her final destiny. 

" The active industrious beneficence she exercised, at 
this time, not only towards the wounded, but the wretch- 
1 ed widows and orphans who had remained here, and had 
' lost their all, in their husbands and parents, was beyond 
praise. Could I clearly recollect and arrange the anec- 
dotes of this period, as I have often heard them, they 
would, of themselves, fill a volume ; suffice it, that such 
was the veneration in which she was held in the army 
after this period, that I recollect, among the earliest im- 
pressions received in my mind, that of a profound rever- 
ence for Madame, as these people were wont to call her. 
Before I ever saw her, I used to think of her as a most 
august personage, of a majestic presence ; sitting on an 
elevated seat, and scattering bounty to wounded soldiers, 
and poor women and children." 

Reading Lesson CLVI. 
Life of Madame Schuyler, continued. 

" My father removed to the town ;* where a friend of 
his, a Scotch merchant, gave him a lodging in his own 
house, next to that very Madame Schuyler who had been 
BO long my daily thought and nightly dream. We had 
not been long there when aunt heard that my father was 
fa good, plain, upright man, without pretensions, but very 
well principled. She sent a man-ied lady, the wife of 
her favorite nephew, who resided with her at the time, to 
ask us to spend the evening with her. I think I have not 
been, on any occasion, more astonished, than when, with no 
little awe and agitation, I came into the presence of Ma- 
dame. She was sitting, and filled a great chair, from 
which she seldom moved. Her aspect was composed, 
and her manner, such as was at first more calculated to 
inspire respect than conciliate affection. 

" Not having the smallest solicitude about what people 
thought of her, and having her mind generally occupied 
with matters of weighty concern, the first expression of 
her kindness seemed rather a lofty courtesy than attrac- 
tive affability ; but she shone out by degrees, and she 
was sure eventually to please every one worth pleasing, 
* Albany. 



350 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLVI. 

her conversation was so rich, so various, so informing; 
everything she said bore such a stamp of reahty ; her 
character had such a gi'asp in it. Her expressions, not j 
from art and study, but from the clear perceptions of her 
sound and strong mind, were powerful, distinct, and ex- 
actly adapted to the occasion. You saw her thoughts as 
they occurred to her mind, without the usual bias rising 
from either a fear to offend, or a wish to please. This 
was one of the secrets in which lay the singular power 
of her conversation. 

" When ordinary people speak to you, your mind wan- 
ders in search of the motives that prompt their discourse, 
or the views and prejudices which bias it : when those 
who excite (and perhaps solicit) admiration, talk, you are 
secretly asking yourself whether they mean to inform or 
dazzle you. All this interior canvass vanished befoi'e the 
evident truth and unstudied ease of Aunt's discourse. On 
a nearer knowledge, too, you found she was much more 
intent to serve, than please you, and too much engrossed 
by her endeavors to do so, to stop and look round for your 
gratitude, which she heeded just as little as your admira- 
tion. In short, she informed, enlightened, and served you, 
without le\'ying on you any tribute whatever, except the 
information you could give in return. 

" I describe her appearance as it then struck me, and, 
once for all, her manners and conversation, as I thought 
of them when I was older, and knew better how to dis- 
tinguish and appreciate. Everything about her was cal- 
culated to increase the impression of respect and admira- 
tion, which, from the earliest dawn of reflection, I had 
been taught to entertain of her. Her house was the most 
spacious, and best furnished, I had ever entered. The 
family pictures, and scripture paintings, were, to me, partic- 
ularly awful and impressive. I compared them to the 
models which had before existed in my imagination, and 
was delighted or mortified, as I found they did or did not 
resemble them. 

" In the front of Madame's house was a portico, towards 
the street. To this she was supported, in fine evenings, 
when the v/hole town were enjoying themselves on their 
respective seats of one kind or other. To hers there 
were a few steps of ascent, on which we used humbly to 
seat ourselves; while a succession of 'the elders of that 



11 



BIOGRAPHY.— MADAME SCHUYLER. 351 

city' paid their respects to Madame, and conversed with 
her, by turns. Never w^as levee better attended. ' Aunt 
Schuyler is come out,' was a talismanic sentence that pro- 
duced pleasure in every countenance, and set every one 
in motion who hoped to be well received ; for, as I have 
formerly observed, Aunt knew the value of time much too 
well to devote it to every one. We lived, all this time, 
next door to her, and were often of these evening parties. 

" The Indian war was now drawing to a close, after 
occasioning great disquiet, boundless expense, and some 
bloodshed. Even when we had the advantage, which our 
tactics and artillery, in some instances, gave, it was a war- 
fare of the most precarious and perplexing kind. It was 
something like hunting in a forest, at best, could you but 
have supposed the animals you pursued armed with mis- 
sile weapons, and ever ready to start out of some unlook- 
ed-for place. Our faithful Indian confederates, as far as 
I can recollect, were more useful to us, on this occasion, 
than all the dear-bought apparatus which we collected for 
the pui-pose of destroying an enemy too wise and too 
swift to permit us to come in sight of them ; or, if deter- 
mined to attack us, sufficiently dexterous to make us feel 
before we saw them. 

" We said, however, that we conquered Pondiac, at 
Iwhich, no doubt, he smiled : for the truth of the matter 
was, the conduct of this war resembled a protracted game 
lof chess. He was as little able to take our forts without 

(cannon, as we were able, without the feet, the eyes, and 
the instinctive sagacity of Indians, to trace them to their 
retreats. After delighting ourselves, for a long while, with 
the manner in which we were to punish Pondiac's pre- 
sumption, * could we once but catch him,' all ended in oUr 
making a treaty, very honorable for him, and not very 
aisadvantageous to ourselves. We gave both presents 

knd promises, and Pondiac gave permission to the 

Inothers of those children who had been taken away from 
the frontier settlements to receive them back again, on 
ondition of delivering up the Indian prisoners. 

" The joyful day when the congress was holden for 
concluding peace, I never shall forget. Another memo- 
•able day is engraven in indelible characters upon my 
nemory. Madame, being deeply interested in the pro- 
ected exchange, brought about a scheme for having it 



352 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CLVI. 

take place at Albany, which was moi-e central than any- 
other place, and where her influence among the Mohawks 
could be of use in getting intelHgence about the children, 
and sending messages to those who had adopted them, 
and who, by this time, were very unwilling to part with 
them : — in the fii'st place, because they were grown very 
fond of them ; and again, because they thought the chil- 
dren would not be so happy in our manner of life, which 
appeared to them both constrained and effeminate. 

" This exchange had a large retrospect. For ten years 
back, there had been, every now and then, while these In- 
dians were in the French interest, ravages upon the fron- 
tiers of the difierent provinces. In many instances, these 
children had been snatched away while their parents were 
working in the fields, or after they were killed. A cer- 
tain day was appointed, on which all who had lost their 
childi-en, or sought those of their relations, were to come 
to Albany, in search of them ; where, on that day, all In- 
dians possessed of white children, were to present them. 
Poor women, who had travelled some hundred miles, from 
the back settlements of Pennsylvania and New England, 
appeai-ed here, with anxious looks and aching hearts, not 
knowing whether their children were alive, or how ex- 
actly to identify them, if they should meet them. I 
observed these apprehensive and tender mothers were, 
though poor people, all dressed with peculiar neatness 
and attention ; each wishing the first impression her child^ 
should receive of her might be a favorable one. 

" On a gentle slope near the fort, stood a row of tem- 
porary huts, built by retainers to the troops : the green 
before these buildings, was the scene of these pathetic 
recognitions, which I did not fail to attend. The joy of 
even the happy mothers, was overpowering, and found 
vent in tears ; but not like the bitter tears of those who, 
after long travel, found not what they sought. It was 
affecting to see the deep and silent sorrow of the Indian 
women, and of the children, who knew no other mother, 
and clung fondly to their bosoms, from whence they were 
not torn without the most piercing shrieks ; while their 
own fond mothers were distressed, beyond measure, at the 
shyness and aversion with which these long-lost objects of 
their love received their caresses. 

" I shall never forget the gi'otesque figures and wild 



BIOGRAPHY.— MADAME SCHUYLER. 353 

looks of these young savages ; nor the trembling haste 
with which their mothers arrayed them in the new clothes 
they had brought for them, as hoping that, with the In- 
dian dress, they would throw off their habits and attach- 
ments. It was, in short, a scene impossible to describe, 
but most affecting to behold. Never were my good 
friend's considerate liberality and useful sympathy more 
fully exerted than on this occasion, which brought so 
many poor travellers from their distant homes, on this pil- 
grimage to the shrine of nature. How many traders did 
she persuade to take them gratis in their boats ! How 
many did she feed and lodge ; and in what various ways 
did she serve or make others serve them all! No one, in- 
deed, knew how to refuse a request of Aunt Schuyler, who 
never made one for herself." 

" To tell the history of Aunt during the years that her 
life was prolonged to witness scenes abhorrent to her 
feelings and her principles,* would be a painful task in- 
deed, even if I were better informed than I am, or wish 
to be, of the transactions of those perturbed times. Of 
her private history I only know that, on the accidental 
death of her nephew, captain Cortlandt Schuyler, she 
took home his two eldest sons, and kept them with her till 
her own death, which happened in 1778 or 1779. I know, 
too, that, like the Roman Atticus, she kept free from the 
violence and bigotry of party ; and like him, too, kindly 
and liberally assisted those of each side who, as the tide 
of success ran different ways, were considered as unfortu- 
nate. On this subject I do not choose to enlarge, but shall 
merely observe, that all the colonel's relations were on the 
republican side, while every one of her own nephews ad- 
hered to the royal cause, to their very great loss and det- 
riment. She was, by that time, too venerable, as well as 
respectable, to be insulted for her principles ; and her 
opinions were always delivered in a manner firm and 
calm, like her owai mind, which was too well regulated 
to admit the rancor of party, and too dignified to stoop to 
disguise of any kind. She died full of years, and honored 
by all who could or could not appreciate her worth ; for, 
not to esteem Aunt Schuyler, was to forfeit all pretensions 
to estimation." 

* Refemug to the period of the revolution, and to Mrs. Schuyler's 
predilections, as a loyalist. 



354 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CLVII. 

Reading Lesson CLVII. 
REV. DR. SAMUEL JOHNSON,* 

"Fh-st president of King's (now Columbia) college, New 
York, was born at Guilford, Connecticut. He entered 
the college at Saybrook, at about fourteen years of age, 
and was graduated in 1714. In 1716, a college was 
established by the general court of the colony, at New 
Haven ; and Mr. Johnson was appointed tutor, though not 
more than twent^i yeans old. 

"In 1720, he became a preacher at West Haven. A 
short time afterwards, he became an episcopalian, and, in 
1722, went to England to obtain ordination. There he 
received the degree of master of arts, at Oxford and Cam- 
bridge. In 1723, he returned, and settled at Stratford, 
where he preached to a small congregation of episcopalian 
families. 

" Here he was treated, by the people at large, as a 
schismatic and apostate, and continually thwarted ; the 
object being to drive him from the country. This treat- 
ment he endured with patience and firmness. 

" In 1743, the university of Oxford confened on him 
the degree of doctor of divinity. In 1754, he was chosen 
president of the college just established at New York, 
and filled the office, with much credit, until 1763, when 
he resigned, and returned to Stratford, where he resumed 
his pastoral functions, and continued them till his death, 
in January, 1772, — in the seventy-sixth year of his age. 

" Di'. Johnson was a man of great learning, quickness 
of perception, soundness of judgment, and benevolence. 
While bishop Berkeley was residing in Rhode Island, — 
which he did two years and a half from the time of his 
arrival, in 1729, — Dr. Johnson became acquainted with 
him, and embraced his theory of idealism. Dr. Johnson's 
publications were chiefly controversial. He also published 
a Hebrew and an English Grammar, which were of great 
service to the infant cause of education in America." 

The name of this conscientious divine and laborious 
student, notwithstanding the odium into which it fell with 

* For this and several other lives we are indebted to the excellent 
biographical notices by Mr. Walsh and others, iu the Encyclopajdia 
Americana. 



BIOGRAPHY.-DR. OGDEN. 355 

one portion of the reHgious community, will descend to 
posterity as that of one of the venerable pioneers of learn- 
ing, in this country. In the state of New York, Dr. John- 
son will ever be held in high estimation, as the first provost 
of Columbia college ; the duties of which station he dis- 
chai-ged with distinguished zeal and ability. The impulse 
which, in this office, he gave to the cause of classical edu- 
cation, continued to be felt, long after he had ceased from 
all the duties of his active and useful life. 

Reading Lesson CLVIII. 
HON. PHILIP LIVINGSTON, 

" One of the signers of the American Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, was born at Albany, January 15th, 1716, was 
graduated at Yale college, in 1737, and became a mer- 
chant in New York. 

" In 1759, he was returned a member to the general 
assembly of the colony, and, afterwards, to the general 
congress of 1774, and to the congress that issued the Dec- 
laration of Independence. 

" In 1777, Mr. Livingston was a senator in the state 
legislature of New York. In 1778, he was again deputed 
to the general congress, where his efforts aggravated a 
dropsy of the chest. He died June 12th, 1778, at York, 
Pennsylvania, to which congress had retired." 

The life of this individual furnishes few incidents of 
interest. But to the personal history of every signer 
of the national Declaration, a strong interest is necessari- 
ly attached. To us, every one of that illustrious circle 
presents himself as a father of his country ; and even the 
slightest particulars of his life are, so far, a source of satis- 
faction to the mind. 

The number of eminent men of this name, renders it, 
also, a matter of importance, to young readers, to attach 
a distinct idea to them individually, so as to avoid confu- 
sion and mistake. 

DR. JACOB OGDEN, 

" Was descended from a respectable family, that eaily 
came to New England, and thence to Long Island and 
New Jersey. He was son of Josiah, and younger 



356 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLIX. 

brother of the honorable David Ogden, for many years on© 
of his majesty's justices of the supreme court of New Jer- 
sey. He was born at Newark, 1721, and, having studied 
medicine, settled in Jamaica, Long Island, in 1746. He 
enjoyed, through life, an acquaintance with the most cele- 
brated physicians, particularly Golden and the elder Bardj 

" He was a bold supporter of inoculation, and early| 
discovered the value of calomel in the diseases incident' 
to our climate. His letters addressed to Hugh Gaine, 
on the malignant sore-throat distemper, — which made itsj 
appearance about that time, October, 1769, and again inj 
1774, — were considered the best treatise on that disorder, 
then published. 

" ' While others,' says Dr. Francis, ' were timidly and 
capriciously prescribing small doses of mercury, in the 
cure of this disease, Di\ Ogden, with more correct patho- 
logical principles, employed mercurial remedies with a 
confidence which his success amply warranted. He may, 
therefore, justly be considered as entitled to the honor of 
being the first in the United States, to whom may be 
attributed the free use of mercury, in the class of inflam- 
mato7y diseases. His publications may be taken as cred- 
itable evidence of his attainments in medical literature 
and science. For, at a time when medicine, in this coun- 
try, was obscured by prejudice, encumbered with forms, 
and shrouded in mystery, he thought and acted for him- 
self, and proved, by a long course of success, that he was 
not only an original thinker, but a sagacious observer.' " 

Reading Lesson CLIX. 
GENERAL NATHANIEL WOODHULL. 

" This distinguished patriot was the eldest son of Na- 
thaniel, and great-grandson of Richard Woodhull, who 
settled at Setauket, in the year 1656. He was born at 
Mastic, Long Island, December 30th, 1722. His early 
life was passed in assisting his father to cultivate the posses- 
sion which he afterwards inherited ; and his educatiom 
was such as was calculated to fit him for the duties of 
active life. He was endowed, by nature, with a strong, 
discriminating mind and a sound judgment, which soon 
attracted the notice of his fellow-citizens, and pointed him 
out as peculiarly qualified for public usefulness. 



BIOGRAPHY.-GEN. VVOODHULL. 357 

" His first public employment was in a military capaci- 
ty, in the war between Great Britain and France, which 
commenced in 1754, and terminated in 1760. But it is 
not known that he entered the army before 1758. Pre- 
vious to that year, the war had been conducted without 
much system or vigor ; and the French had the supei'ior- 
ity in every campaign. 

" Being appointed a major in the provincial forces of 
New York, Mr.Woodhull, in 1758, served in that capaci- 
ty, in the army under general Abercrombie, intended for 
the reduction of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. He was 
engaged in the daring, or rather rash assault, ordered by 
the English general, before the arrival of the artillery, 
upon the former place. 

" Desirous of wiping off the stain of this repulse, gen- 
eral Abercrombie detached a portion of his army against 
Cadaraqui, or fort Frontenac, (now Kingston,) an impor- 
tant fortress at the communication of lake Ontario with 
the St. Lawrence. 

" Lieutenant-colonel Bradstreet, with whom the design 
originated, commanded the enterprise ; having a train of 
eight cannon and three mortars, and a body of three 
thousand men, of whom one hundred and fifty were regu- 
lars. The rest of the detachment was composed of pro- 
vincials from different places. On the 27th of August, 
1758, a combined operation was directed against the fort, 
by land and water. The conduct of the forces in the 
boats was committed to Corse and Woodhull, — the latter 
with orders to receive the fire of the fort without return- 
ing it, until their troops had loaded and fired. The reso- 
lution with which the operations were conducted dispirit- 
ed the enemy, whose forces were insufficient to the de- 
fence of their works ; and, after a feeble resistance, the 
garrison struck their colors, and capitulated. 

" Whether Mr. Woodhull was employed in the cam- 
paign of the following year, is not ascertained; most of 
his papers having been destroyed by a fire, a few years 
after his death. It is believed, however, that he either 
marched with the force which general Prideaux con- 
ducted, in 1759, against Niagara, or that led by general 
Amherst against Ticonderoga and Crown Point, which 
last enterprise had a successful issue. In 1760, he served 
as colonel of the third regiment of New-York provincials, 



358 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLX. 

under general Amherst, which marched against Montreal, 
and effected the final reduction of Canada. Upon the 
capitulation of the marquis De Vaudreuil, on the 8th of 
September, colonel Woodhull, with his troops, returned 
to New York, and retired to private life." 

Reading Lesson CLX. 

Life of general Woodhull^ continued. 

" The removal of French power from their neighbor- 
hood, so dangerous to the colonists, and their conscious- 
ness of having efficiently contributed to its achievement, 
produced, naturally, a more free inquiry into the relative 
rights of the provinces and the mother country. The 
spirit to which this inquiry gave rise, was stimulated by 
the pretensions of Britain, that Americans were to be 
taxed by parliament, for the expenses of whatever attacks 
might be made upon them, in any wars of interest or 
ambition, incurred by the parent state ; and these pre- 
tensions grew, at last, into assertions of a right to tax 
them in all cases whatsoever. Acts of parliament rashly 
passed, and sometimes timidly repealed, only served to 
increase the existing discontent, and hasten the impending 
crisis. 

" Participating in the general feeling, the assembly of 
New York, at the close of December, 176S, unanimously 
resolved that ' no tax could, or ought to he, imposed on the 
persons or estates of his majesty's subjects within the 
colony, but by their oivn free gift, and by their represent- 
atives in general assembly; that the rights and privileges 
of the legislatures could not be abridged, superseded, ab- j 
rogated, or annulled ; and that they had a right to consult 
with the other colonies in matters wherein their libertiea 
might be affected.' 

" In consequence of these resolutions, the governor, Sir 
Henry Moore, dissolved the assembly on the 2d of Janu- 
ary, 1769. The language and proceedings of the assem- 
bly, were highly approved by the people of Suffolk ; and, 
at the election in the spring of 1769, they returned to the 
assembly colonel Woodhull and William Nicoll, Esq. 

" In their instructions, drawn for their representa- 
tives, the county emphatically expressed their reliance on 
the exertions of their members ' to preserve their freedonb 



BIOGRAPHY.-GEN. WOODFIULL. 359 

and, the command over their own purses.^ The injunctioti 
was faithfully observed by colonel Woodhull, who, durinjr 
the six years that followed, of the continuance of the royal 
government, was constant in his devotion to the rights of 
his countrymen, and in his opposition to the court party. 
" In the convention which met in the city of New York, 
April 10th, 1775, to choose delegates to the continental 
congress, colonel Woodhull appeared from the county of 
Suffolk. Pursuant to a recommendation from the New- 
York local committee, a provincial congress was deputed 
by the several counties, which met in the city, May 22d, 
1775. This body practically asserted its right to entire 
sovereignty, suspending, in effect, from the time of its or- 
ganization, 8nd ultimately dissolving and expelling, the 
royal authority. Colonel Woodhull was placed at the 
head of the delegation from Suffolk. 

" On the 22d of August, 1775, the provincial congress 
reorganized the militia of this colony into brigades, direct- 
ing that a brigadier-general, with a major of brigade, be 
commissioned to the command of each. The militia of 
Suffolk and Queens constituted one brigade, of which 
colonel Woodhull was subsequently appointed general, 
and Jonathan LawTence, Esq., a member of the provin- 
cial congress from Queens, major of brigade. 

" On the 28th of August, 1775, general Woodhull was 
elected president of the provincial congress, which office 
he held in the body that succeeded it in 1776. The pro- 
vincial congress, doubting its powers to conform to the 
recommendation of the continental congress by erecting 
a new form of government, to the exclusion of all foreign 
control, on the 31st of May, 1776, recommended to the 
electors of the several counties to vest the necessary pow- 
ers either in their present delegates, or in others to be 
chosen in their stead. 

" The British army having, on the 30th of June, 
appeared off the harbor of New York, the provincial 
congress, on its adjournment that day, directed that the 
congress- in which those new powers were vested, should 
immediately assemble at White Plains. They did not, in 
fact, assemble till the 9th of July, 1776, when general 
Woodhull was chosen president. The declaration of 
independence, passed on the 4th, had not yet received 
the unanimous approbation of the colonies in continental 



360 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXI. 

congress ; the delegates from the colony of New York 
having declined to vote, (although they were personally 
in favor of the measure, and believed their constituents to 
be so,) because they were fettered by instructions drawn 
nearly twelve months before, when the hope of reconcilia- 
tion was yet cherished. 

" Immediately on this meeting, the new provincial 
congress unanimously adopted the declaration, general 
Woodhull presiding, on the part of the people of New 
York ; thus filling the void occasioned by the want of the 
necessary powers in their delegates at Philadelphia. On 
the next day, they assumed the title of the representatives 
of the state of New YorkJ" 

4* 

Reading Lesson CLXI. 

Life of general Woodhull, continued. 

" The invading army, under lord Howe, had landed on 
Staten island ; and, by the command which their naval force 
secured over the adjacent waters, they were enabled to 
threaten an attack from this point, either upon Long 
Island, or the island of New York. General Washington 
was therefoi-e obliged to divide the force collected to 
oppose them ; a portion of which entrenched themselves 
at Brooklyn, when the residue was stationed at different 
places on York island. 

" On the 10th of August, general "Woodhull's affairs re- 
quiring his return home, he obtained leave of temporary 
absence from the convention, whose sittings had been 
transferred to Harlem ; and pfoceeded to his residence 
at Mastic, seventy-five miles from New York. 

" On the 22d of August, the uncertainty that had pre- 
vailed, as to the first point of attack, on the part of the 
invaders, was dispelled by the landing of a portion of their 
forces at New Utrecht, at the place now called Bath. 
Aware of the increasing want of provisions among the ene- 
my, and seeing that our army being confined to the lines, 
the whole stock and produce of Long Island would be in the 
power of the hostile troops, unless means were promptly, 
used to prevent it, — the convention adopted a policy, 
since successfully pursued by the Russians, on a larger 
scale. This was, to deprive the invading foe of supplies, 
and thus compel their abandonment of the island, by re- 



BIOGRAPHY.— GEN. WOODHULL. 361 

moving the stock and other provisions in the vicinity; and, 
if that could not be effected, by destroying them. 

" Resohuions were accordingly passed on the 24th of 
August, ordeiing general Woodhull, or, in his absence, 
colonel Potter, of Huntingdon, — who had served against 
the French in 1758-59, — to march, without delay, one 
half of the western regiment of militia of Suffolk county, 
with five days' piovisions, into the western parts of 
Queens county ; and requiring that the officers of that 
county, should immediately order out the whole of its 
militia, to effect the desired object. 

" An express being sent with these directions to major 
Lawrence, colonel Potter, and general Woodhull, the lat- 
ter reached Jamaica on the next day, Sunday, and imme- 
diately took measures to apprize the convention of his 
arrival there, and awaited the approach of the forces in- 
tended to act under his command. 

" He was, however, doomed to experience not only de- 
lay but disappointment; and his feelings may be more 
easily imagined than described. The convention were 
fully aware that the militia to be collected on this emer- 
gency, would be wholly insufficient to effect the desired 
object, and, more particularly, to enable the general to sta- 
tion a force, agreeably to their wishes, on the high grounds 
in the western part of Queens county, to repel the rava- 
ging parties of the enemy. 

" In the preceding year, it had been found necessaiy to 
despatch some of the troops under the command of gen- 
eral Wooster to Suffolk county, to prevent depredations 
along its exposed coast ; and its armed inhabitants were 
not now more than competent to the same purpose. In 
Queens, a majority of the inhabitants were disaffected to 
the patriotic cause, and rendered the defence of the county 
much more difficult. The tories there had, in the pre- 
ceding month of December, obtained a quantity of arms 
from the Asia man-of-war, and had even prevented, by 
their superior numbers at the polls, an election, then at- 
tempted, of delegates to the provincial congress; inso- 
much that a military intervention, under the direction of 
the continental congress, had become necessary to deprive 
the tories of offensive weapons, and to secure to the whigs 
the freedom of election. A large number of the whigs of 
that county were already embodied in the regiment of 

Q 



362 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXIL 

colonel Remsen ; and many of those at home were over- 
awed by the neighboihood of the British force^ or were 
employed in preparations for the flight of their families, 
if fortune should favor the British arms. 

" The convention, accordingly, deputed a committee to 
general Washington, advising him of their object ; of their 
apprehension of the insufficiency of the force they had 
ordered to join genei'al Woodhull ; and of their convic- 
tion that it would be most conducive to the public welfare 
that the regiments of colonels Smith and Remsen should 
be added." 

Reading Lesson CLXII. 

Life of general Woodhull, continued. 

" The committee reported on the 26th, that, at the con- 
ference with general Washington, he seemed well pleased 
with the suggestion, but said he was afraid it was too late". 
He expressed his willingness, however, to afford every 
assistance to the convention, consistent with the public 
good ; and stated that he would immediately give orders 
that Smith's and Remsen's regiments should march into 
Queens county, and join general Woodhull. Notice of 
this was forwarded to general Woodhull ; as well as of 
the expectation that, by the time he received their letter, 
the promised reinforcement would have joined him. 

" On the same day, the whole militia that had been col- 
lected, was assembled at Jamaica, and was found to consist 
only of about one hundred men, led by colonel Potter, of 
Suffolk, about forty militia from Queens, and fifty horsemen 
belonging to the troop of Kings and Queens counties. With 
this handful of men, general Woodhull advanced to the 
west\vai-d of Queens county, agreeably to his orders. 

"Owing probably, to the receipt of information that in- 
creased numbers of the British had disembarked, on the 
preceding day, at New Utrecht, the commanding officer 
at Brooklyn did not detach the second Long-Island regi- 
ment to join general Woodhull ; and, by some fatality/ 
the omission was neither communicated to the convention, 
nor to the expecting general. 

" Disappointed at not meeting the additional troops, .a( 
without whom he could not post any force on the heights, io 
to repel depredations of the enemy, he, nevertheless, com- Iq 
Toenced, with vigor, the execution of the rest of his orders. T[ 



BIOGRAPHY.— GEN. \VOODHULL. 363 

He placed guards and sentries to prevent communication 
between the tories and the enemy; and scouring, this and 
the succeeding day, the country southward of the hills in 
Kings, and a considerable part of Newtown and Jamaica, 
he sent oft' an immense quantity of stock, collected them 
towards the gi'eat plains, and ordered off" a farther quan- 
tity from near Hempstead. 

" In the mean time, his numbers had dwindled, — by 
the anxiety of the militia to reach their homes, and pro- 
tect or remove their families, — to less than a hundred 
men, who, as well as their horses, were worn down. 
What they had effected, demonstrated that, with the force 
the convention had expected to place under his command, 
the object to which they attached so much importance, 
could have been accomplished. The subsequent disasters 
to the American arms would, howevei', have rendered its 
accomplishment useless. 

"Early on the 27th of August, a pass through the hills 
in Kings county, which had been left unguarded by the 
American troops, was taken possession of by the enemy. 
The American outposts were surprised, and the army 
driven, after a sanguinary engagement, within their en- 
trenchments at Bi'ooklyn, — as was mentioned in the ac- 
count of the battle of Long Island. Numbers of the Brit- 
ish troops, during the same day, posted themselves on the 
hills between New York and Jamaica ; and parties of 
the enemy's horse made incursions into the country, with- 
in a short distance of the general's force. 

" In this state of things, he retired to Jamaica, sending, 
at difterent times, two messages to the convention, appriz- 
ing them of his situation ; of the absolute necessity of re- 
inforcements, and of his conviction that the two Long 
Island regiments could not join him, in consequence of 
the interruption of the communication. Unfortunately, 
the convention did not sit on that day; and the general, 
receiving no answer, despatched his brigade-major, who 
was also a member of that body, to repeat his representa- 
tion, and obtain their orders. 

" The convention, at their meeting on the 28th, still 
adhered to their former project ; believing that by cross- 
ing the East River to Long Island, and making a detour 
to Flushing, the two regiments might still reach Jamaica. 
They accordingly sent major Lawrence to general "Wash- 



364 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CLXIIl. 

ington, with a letter expressing that opinion, and referring 
him to the brigade-major, for explanations as to the means. 
At the same time, they directed the necessary preparations 
for the transportation and landing of the troops; and, re- 
ceiving, soon after, a reiteration of the call for an immediate 
reinforcement, they deputed two of their body, John Sloss 
Hobart and James Townsend, to repair to general Wood- 
hull with instructions and advice. Owing, probably, to 
the intermediate roads being in possession of the enemy, 
these gentlemen, it is believed, never reached him. 

" Whether the express despatched by major Lawrence, 
as soon as ordered, on the mission to general Washington, 
was more successful, is not known. On the same morning, 
the convention forwarded a circular to the committees of 
the different towns of Connecticut lying upon the Sound, 
requesting their cooperation in removing the cattle from „ 
Long Island to that state, and an application to the gov- 
ernor for such force as could be speedily obtained. An 
application to him had been intermediately made by gen- 
eral Washington, to throw over one thousand men upon 
the island. 

" In the afternoon, major Lawrence returned from the 
American camp, bringing a letter from the commander- 
in-chief, declining the request of the convention for the 
desired reinforcement; because, in the opinion of himself 
and his general officers, the men they had, were not more 
than competent to the defence of their lines. The retreat 
across the river, which was effected on that night, might 
have been suspected and thwarted, if the passage of the 
second regiment had been attempted in open day. This, 
no doubt, formed an additional reason for non-compli- 
ance." 

Reading Lesson CLXIIL 

Life of general Woodhull, concluded. 

" In the meantime, general Woodhull, whose notions 
of military obedience had been formed in the strictest 
school, was awaiting the expected orders and reinforce- 
ments. At this time, the situation of general Woodhull 
was peculiarly embarrassing. If he had not received en- 
couragement that he should be relieved, the smallness of 
his force would have justified an immediate retreat. Ev- 
ery communication from the convention, from whom he 



BIOGRAPHY.-GEN. VVOODHULL. 365 

receivecl his orders, signified it as their wish that he should 
retain his station in the western part of Queens county, 
and encouraged him to expect a reinforcement. The 
omission of any intelligence to the contrary, with the de- 
lay of the return of his brigade-major, who was detained 
by the convention, was calculated to strengthen that ex- 
pectation. To have retreated under these circumstances, 
would have been a violation of military rules, and, in case 
of relief being sent, would have been deemed highly dis- 
honorable. 

" In this emergency, the general had no counsel but his 
own honorable feelings to consult ; and he adopted the 
course which they dictated. He resolved not to make a 
final retreat until he heard from the convention. On the 
morning of the 2Sth, he ordered his troops to fall back, 
and take a station about four miles east of Jamaica, and 
there to remain until farther orders. The general re- 
mained at Jamaica, till afternoon, in momentary expecta- 
tion of a message from the convention. He then retired 
slowly, with one or two companions, still indulging the 
hope of intelligence fi-om the convention, until he fell a 
sacrifice to his reliance on their vigilance and his own 
high sense of military honor, which forbade his abandon- 
ing the station assigned him, however perilous, before he 
was assured that relief was hopeless, or he had orders to 
that effect. A severe thunder shower, as is supposed, 
obliged him to take refuge in a public house about two 
miles east of Jamaica. He was there overtaken by a 
detachment of the 17th regiment of British dragoons, and 
the 71st regiment of infantry, accompanied by some of the 
disaffected inhabitants as pilots. 

'* The general immediately, on being discovered, gave 
up his sword, in token of surrender. The ruffian who 
first approached him, — said to be a major Baird, of the 
71st, — as reported, ordered him to say, ' God save the 
king ;' the general replied, * God save us all ;' on which 
the British officer, in the most cowardly and cruel manner, 
assailed the defenceless general with his broad sword, and 
would have killed him upon the spot, if he had not been 
prevented by the interference of an officer of more honor 
' and humanity, — said to be major Delancey of the dragoons, 
— who arrested his savage violence. 

" The general was badly wounded in the head ; and 



366 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXIU. 

one of his arms was mangled from the shoulder to the 
wrist. He was taken to Jamaica, where his wounds 
were dressed, and, with other prisoners, was detained 
there till the next day. He was then conveyed to Grave- 
send, and, with about eighty other prisoners, of whom 
colonel Troup of New York was one, was confined on 
board a vessel which had been employed to transport live 
stock for the use of the army, and was without accommo- 
dation for health or comfort. 

" The general was released from the vessel, on the re- 
monstrance of an officer who had more humanity than his 
superiors, and removed to a house near the church in New 
Utrecht, where he was permitted to receive some attend- 
ance and medical assistance. A cut in the joint of the 
elbow, rendered an amputation of the arm necessary. 
As soon as this was resolved on, the general sent for his 
wife, with a request that she should bring with her all the 
money she had in her possession, and all she could pro- 
cure ; which being complied with, he had it distributed 
among the American prisoners, to alleviate their suffer- 
ings; — thus furnishing a lesson of humanity to his enemies, 
and closing a useful life by an act of charity. He then 
suffered the amputation, which soon issued in a mortifica- 
tion, that terminated his life, September 20th, 1776, in the 
fifty-fourth year of his age. 

" The talents of general Woodhull were peculiarly 
adapted to a military station. With personal courage, 
he possessed judgment, decision, and firmness of charac- 
ter, tempered with conciliating manners, which com- 
manded the respect and obedience of his troops, and, at 
the same time, secured their confidence and esteem. 

" His excellent wife, who had barely arrived soon 
enough to attend him in his last moments, was permitted 
to remove his dead body, which was prejiared for the 
purpose by the British surgeons. Painful as her feelings 
must have been, while attending the mangled corse of her 
deceased husband and dearest friend, in its slow progress 
over a distance of seventy miles, she had the satisfaction 
of reflecting that it was out of the possession of the ene- 
my, and the consolation of depositing it on his own farm, 
amid the graves of his ancestors. 

" The cruel treatment of this gallant officer and eminent 
citizen, aroused, in every patriotic bosom, feelings of in- 



BIOGRAPHY.— SAMSON OCCOM. 367 

dignation. Nor can the circumstances ever be recollected 
without admiring the lofty spirit which no extremity could 
bend to dishonor, nor witliout disdain and abhorrence of a 
coward brutality, which vainly seeks for extenuation in 
the bitter animosities of the times." 

Reading Lesson CLXIV. 
SAMSON OCCOM, 

An Indian clergyman, and a writer on the Indian tribes, 
was born at Mohegati, in the year 1723 ; and was the 
first Indian pupil educated by the Rev. Mr. Wheelock,* 
at Lebanun. In 1742, he entered at the age of nineteen, 
and remained four years. 

" About the year 1755, he went to Montauk, Long 
Island, where he opened a school, and officiated as public 
teacher of the Indian tribe there. He preached, also, 
occasionally, to the Indians at Shinnecock. He continued 
at Montauk Point about ten years. 

" On the 29th of August, 1759, he was ordained by the 
Suffolk presbytery. He next engaged in a mission to 
the Oneidas, and continued with them till he accompa- 
nied Mr. Whittaker to Europe, and was the first Indian 
preacher who visited England. The houses in which he 
preached, when there, were thronged. Between Febru- 
ary 16th, 1766, and July 22d, 1767, he preached in vari- 
ous parts of the kingdom, and between three and four 
hundred sermons. There he collected about <£1000 for 
establishing schools among the American Indians. 

"On his return from Europe, he remained a while at 
Mohegan, whence he removed, in 1786, to the Stock- 
bridge Indians at Brothertown, Oneida county. Many 
of the Mohegans, and several of the Montauk tribe, ac- 
companied him to that place, where he died in July, 1792. 
While in England, he preached to crowded audiences in 
the chapels of London, and even occupied, with accept- 
ance, the pulpit of Whitefield. The house in which he 
formerly lived, and the church in which he preached, are, 
or were lately, standing at Montville, in New London 
county, Connecticut. 

" The Rev. Doctor Buell, in a letter to the Rev. David 

* The individual whose pious labors secured the foundalion of Dart- 
mouth coUegre. 



368 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXV. 

Bostwick, May 9tb, 1761, speaks as follows, of the Rev. 
Samson Occom : — ' As a preacher of the gospel, he seems 
always to have in view the end of the ministry, the glory 
of God and the salvation of men. His manner of expres- 
sion, when he pi'eaches to the Indians, is vastly more 
natural, free, clear, and eloquent, quick and powerful, 
than when he preaches to others. He is the glory of the 
Indian nation.' And it is added by another, that ' while 
he was in England, he was an object of much attention.' " 
He failed, however, to maintain, at all times, his char- 
acter for sobriety, and occasionally fell into intemperance, 
to an extent which showed the inveteracy peculiar to the 
habits of the Indian. 

Reading Lesson CLXV. 
LEWIS MORRIS, 

"One of the signers of the American Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, was born in the state of New York, in the year 
1726. He was proprietor of the large manor of Morris- 
ania, in the county of Westchester. He was educated at 
Yale college, of which he received the honors; and, on 
his return home, he devoted himself to agriculture. 

" When the dissensions between the colonies and the 
mother country began, he was in a most fortunate situa- 
tion ; with an ample estate, a fine family, an excellent 
constitution, literary taste, and general occupations of 
which he was fond. But he renounced, at once, his per- 
sonal enjoyment and domestic comfort, to assert the rights 
of his country. 

"He was elected to the congress of 1775, and served 
on the most important committees. That body assigned 
to him the arduous task of detaching the western Indians 
from the coalition with Great Britain. On this errand, 
he repaired to Pittsburgh, and acted with zeal and ad- 
dress. 

" In the beginning of 1776, he resumed his seat in con- 
gi'ess, where he was a laborious and very useful member. 
When he signed the Declaration of Independence, it was 
at the risk of his beautiful and extensive manor, near New 
York, which was, in fact, soon after laid waste by the 
enemy. Three of his sons served in the army, with much 
distinction. He relinquished his seat in congress, in 1777, 



BIOGRAPHY.— PHILIP SCHUYLER. 369 

and was afterwards in the state legislature, and a major- 
general of militia. 

" Mr. Morris died on his paternal estate, in January, 
1798, at the age of seventy-one, possessing the universal 
esteem and gratitude of his country." 

PHILIP SCHUYLER, 

" Distinguished as a revolutionary general, was born at 
Albany, in 1731, of an ancient and respectable family. 
He served as an officer in the war which commenced at 
Icike George, in 1775. When quite young, he became a 
member of the New-York legislature, and was eminent 
for his intelligence and influence. 

" To him and governor Clinton, it was chiefly owing 
that the province made an early and decided resistance 
to those British measures which terminated in the inde- 
pendence of the colonies. 

" When the revolution commenced, he was appointed 
a major-general, and," as has been mentioned in our histo- 
ry, '' was directed to proceed immediately from New York 
to Ticonderoga, to secure the lakes, and make prepara- 
tions for entering Canada. But being taken sick, in Sep- 
tember, the command devolved upon Montgomery. On 
his recovery, he devoted himself zealously to the manage- 
ment of affairs in the northern departments, and gave much 
of his attention to the superintendence of Indian concerns. 

" On the approach of Burgoyne, in 1777, he made every 
exertion to obstruct his progress ; but the evacuation of 
Ticonderoga by St. Clair, occasioning unreasonable jeal- 
ousies in regard to Schuyler, in New England, he was 
superseded by general Gates. 

" He was afterwards, though not in the regular service, 
very useful to his country, in the military transactions of 
New York. He was a member of the old congress ; aiad, 
when the present government of the United States com- 
menced its operation, in 1789, he was appointed a senator 
in the national legislature. He was chosen, a second 
time, in 1797, to the same station. In the senate of New 
York, he contributed, probably more than any other man, 
>to the code of laws adopted by the state. 

" He died at his seat near Albany, November 18th, 
1804, in the seventy-third year of his age. He possessed 



370 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CLXVL 

great strength of mind and purity of intention. In the 
contrivance of plans of public utility, he was wise and 
circumspect; and, in their execution, enterprising and 
persevering. In his deportment, he was dignified, but 
courteous. He was a pleasing and instructive companion, 
and, in all the functions of private life, was highly exem- 
plary." 

Reading Lesson CLXVI. 
WILLIAM FLOYD, 

" Commonly called general Floyd, great- grand son of the 
first emigrant of his name, was born on the family estate 
at Mastic, December 17th, 1734. His early education 
was less extensive than might have been expected from 
the wealth and ability of his father. His natural intelli- 
gence was great, and his moral character elevated. His 
academic course was hardly closed, when the death of 
his parent made it necessai'y for him to take charge of his 
patrimonial estate. 

" His sound mind, disciplined and enlightened by the 
moderate education he had received, his friendly disposi- 
tion, his kindness and affability, all united in rendering him 
popular in the community where he lived; and, at an early 
age, made him a leading man among his fellow-citizens. 
His fidelity in the execution of minor offices imposed upon 
him, induced his promotion to others of more importance, 
and, eventually, to some of the highest places of political 
trust and confidence. He was early chosen an officer in 
the militia of Suffolk county, and rose finally to the rank 
of major-general. 

" At an early period of the controversy between Great 
Britain and her colonies, the feelings of general Floyd 
were strongly enlisted on the side of the people; and he 
entered, with zeal, into every measure calculated to ensure 
their rights and liberties. These feelings, on his part, ex- 
cited a correspondent sympathy on the part of the people, 
and led to his subsequent appointment to the first conti- 
nental congress, which met at Philadelphia, September 
5th, 1774, and he most heartily concurred in all measures 
adopted by that body. 

" On the journals of 1775, are recorded the numerous 
committees on which he served and the important ser- 



BIOGRAPHY.-GEN. FLOYD. 371 

vices which his intelligence and active habits, enabled him 
to render, to promote the common cause. 

" Few of the leading patriots of the revolution suffered 
more severity than he. His mansion-house and farm were 
exposed to the enemy, during their possession of Long 
Island; and his family were, of course, exiled from their 
home and propeity. The produce and stock of his estate 
were seized, to furnish provisions for the British army; his 
woods cut down, for their use ; and his dwelling used as 
a rendezvous for a party of horse. Thus, for seven years, 
he derived no benefit from his lands ; while he and his 
family were driven to find shelter and safety in Connecti- 
cut. When again allowed to return to his home, he found 
it, as might have been expected, in a state of dilapidation 
and ruin. The naked soil was nearly all that remained 
without bearing marks of destruction. 

"General Floyd was one of that immortal band of pa- 
triots, who, on the 4th of July, 1776, signed and published 
to the world the great charter of American independence. 
In 1777, he was elected a senator, and, on the 7th of No- 
vember, of that year, took his seat in the first constitutional 
legislature of this state. On the 15th of October, 1778, he 
was appointed by the legislature a member of congress, 
and was reappointed, on the 14th of October, 1779. 

" On the adoption of the federal constitution, in 1788, 
and when the government was to be new-organized, he 
was returned a member of the first congress convened in 
New York, March 4th, 1789, when general "Washington 
was inaugurated president of the United States. 

"In 1784, he purchased a tract of land, now of great 
value, on the Mohawk river, then in a state of nature, 
without inhabitants or culture ; and, when free from pub- 
lic life, he undertook to improve it. To this estate he 
removed with his family in 1803, — after having been, in 
1800, one of the electors of president and vice-president 
of the United States, when he deposited his vote for the 
republican candidates, Jefferson and Burr, and, in 1801, 
having been a delegate from Long Island, to the conven- 
tion called to revise the state constitution. He afterwards 
served repeatedly as presidential elector, and, for the last 
time, in 1820. 

" He continued to enjoy unusual health, till near the 
close of life ; and the faculties of his mind remained un- 



372 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CLXVII. 

impaired to the last. In his person, he was of roirlflle 
stature, and possessed a natural dignity, which seldom 
failed to impress those with whom he associated. H<? 
was eminently a practical man, without ostentation ox 
vanity. When his plans were once formed, he found no 
reason to alter them ; and his firmness and resolution 
were seldom equalled. In his political character, there 
was much to admire. Uniform and independent, his 
views were his own, and his opinions, the result of reason 
and reflection. If the puhlic estimation of a man be a 
just criterion by which to judge, general Floyd was ex- 
celled by few of his cotemporaries ; since, for more than 
fifty years, he was honored by his fellow-citizens with 
offices of trust and responsibility." 

Reading Lesson CLXVII. 

GENERAL JAMES CLINTON, 

" The fourth son of colonel Charles Clinton, was born, 
August 9th, 1736, at the residence of his father, in Ulster, 
(afterwards Orange) county. New York. He received an 
excellent education, and acquired much proficiency in 
the exact sciences; but his ruling inclination was for a 
military life. 

" He was appointed an ensign, in the second regiment 
of the militia of Ulster county, by Sir Charles Hardy, the 
governor, and rose to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, in 
the same regiment, before the commencement of the rev- 
olution. 

" During the war of 1756, between the English and the 
French, he displayed much courage, and particularly dis- 
tinguished himself at the capture of fort Frontenac, where 
he was a captain under colonel Bradstreet, and rendered 
essential service, by taking a sloop of war on lake Ontario, 
which obstructed the advance of the army. 

" The confidence which was reposed in his character, 
may be estimated by his appointment as captain com- 
mandant of the four I'egiments levied for the pi'otection 
of the western frontiers of the counties of Ulster and Or- 
ange, — a post of great responsibility and danger, by which 
he was intrusted with the safety of a line of settlements 
of, at least, fifty miles in extent, which were continually 
threatened by the savages. 



BIOGRAPHY.— JAMES CLINTON. 373 

*' After the French war, Mr. Clinton retired from the 
array to private life. But he did not very long enjoy re- 
pose. On the 30th of June, 1775, he was appointed, by 
the continental congress, colonel of the third regiment of 
New- York forces ; the American revolution being then 
on the eve of commencement. 

" In the same year, he marched, with Montgomery, to 
Quebec; and, in 1777, having been previously promoted 
to the rank of brigadier-general in the army of the United 
States, commanded at fort Clinton, when it was attacked 
by the English general. Sir Henry Clinton, in order to 
create a diversion in favor of general Burgoyne. 

"After a gallant defence, fort Clinton, as well as fort 
Montgomery, — of both of which his bi'other George, the 
governor, was commander-in-chief, — were carried by 
storm. General Clinton was the last man to leave the 
works; but he escaped with a severe wound, and reached 
his house covered with blood." 

Of general Clinton's expedition against the Indians of 
the interior, mention was made in the historical part of this 
work. 

" During a considerable part of the war, general Clin- 
ton was stationed at Albany, where he commanded. He 
was at the siege of Yorktovvn; and here his conduct was 
maiked by his usual intrepidity. He made his last ap- 
pearance in arms, on the evacuation of the city of New 
York by the British, when he bade an affectionate fare- 
well to the commander-in-chief, and retired to his ample 
estates. 

" He did not, hqwever, enjoy uninterrupted repose, but 
was often called by his fellow-citizens to perform civic 
duties, such as those of a commissioner to adjust the 
boundary line between Pennsylvania and New York, of 
a member of the legislature, and of the convention which 
adopted the present constitution of the United States, and 
of a senator ; all of which offices he filled with credit to 
himself and advantage to his country. 

" General Clinton was of a mild and affectionate dispo- 
sition, but when greatly provoked, displayed extraordinary 
energy. In battle, he was calm and collected. He died, 
December 22d, 1812." 



374 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXVIII. 



Reading Lesson CLXVIII. 
GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY, 

" A major-general in the army of the United States, was 
born in 1737, in the north of Ireland. He embraced the 
profession of arms, and served under Wolfe, at Quebec, 
in 1759 ; but, on his return to England, he left his regi- 
ment, although his prospects of promotion were fair. He 
then removed to America, for which country he enter- 
tained a deep affection, purchased an estate in New 
York, about a hundred miles from the city, and married 
a daughter of judge Livingston." The narrative of the re- 
mainder of his life forms but a brief recapitulation of a 
part of the history of his adopted country. 

" His feelings in favor of America were so well known, 
that, on the commencement of the revolutionai-y struggle, 
he was intrusted with the command of the continental 
forces in the northern department, in conjunction with 
general Schuyler. The latter, however, fell sick, and the 
chief command, in consequence, devolved upon Montgom- 
ery, who, after various successes, — the reduction of fort 
Chambly. the capture of St. John's, and of Montreal, — 
proceeded to the siege of Quebec. This he commenced 
December 1st, 1775, after having formed a junction with 
colonel Arnold, at Point-aux-Trembles.* 

" But, as his artillery was not of sufficient calibre to 
make the requisite impression, he determined upon at- 
tempting the capture of the place by storm. He made all 
his arrangements, and advanced at the head of the New- 
York troops, along the St. Lawrence, He assisted, with 
his own hands, in pulling up the pickets that obstructed 
his approach to the second barrier, which he was resolved 
to force, when the only gun fired from the battery of the 
enemy, killed him and his two aid-de-camps. The three 
fell at the same time; and their lifeless bodies rolled upon 
the ice formed on the river." 

The circumstances of his death were peculiar. He was 
killed by a discharge of grape-shot, from a cannon fired by 
a slow match, which one of the besieged had left ignited, 
when retreating to the inner barrier. 

" The next day, his body was brought into Quebec, and 
* Pronounced, Pwawntotrdmble. 



BIOGRAPHY— GEORGE CLINTON. 375. 

bui'ied without any mark of distinction. Congress directed 
a monument, witli an inscription, to be erected to his 
memory, and placed in front of St. Paul's church, in New 
York ; and, July 8th, 1818, his remains were brought 
from Quebec, in consequence of a resolve of the state of 
New York, and interred near the monument. 

" General Montgomery was gifted with fine abilities, 
and had received an excellent education. His military 
talents, especially, were great ; his measures were taken 
with judgment, and executed with vigor. The sorrow for 
his loss was heightened by the esteem which his amiable 
character had gained him. At the period of his death, he 
was only thirty-eight years of age." 



Reading Lesson CLXIX. 

GOVERNOR GEORGE CLINTON, 

" The youngest son of colonel Charles Clinton, was born 
July 15th, 1739, in Orange, (then Ulster) county. New 
York. His education was superintended by his father, a 
gentleman of a highly cultivated mind, assisted by a min- 
ister of the gospel, named Daniel Thain, who had been 
educated at the university of Aberdeen. 

" He evinced, at an early age, that spirit of activity and 
enterprise which marked his after-life. During what was 
called the French war, he left his father's house, and en- 
tered on board a privateer, which sailed from the port of 
New York ; and, after encountering great hardships and 
perils, returned home, and immediately accepted a lieu- 
tenancy in a company commanded by his brother James. 

" He was present at the capture effort Frontenac, now 
Kino^ston, where the company to which he belonged, be- 
haved with great gallantry. After the usual time of study, 
he was admitted to the bar, and practised, with much 
success, in his native County, until his election to the 
colonial assembly, whei'e he became the head of the whig 
party, or mlnointy, and uniformly opposed the arbitrary 
course of the government. 

" In April 22d, 1775, he was chosen a delegate to the 
continental congress ; and, in 1776, he was also appointed 
brigadier-general of the militia of Ulster county, and, 
Bome time after, a brigadier in the army of the United 



376 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXIX. 

States. At the first election under the constitution of the 
state, which was adopted at New York, April 20th, 1777, 
he was chosen both governor and lieutenant-governor. 

" Having accepted the former office, the latter was 
filled by Pierre Van Cortlandt. He continued in the 
chief magistracy of the state during six terms, or 18 years, 
when he declined a reelection. 

" In consequence of the great number of tories who 
resided in the state of New York, and its distracted con- 
dition, the situation of governor Clinton was more ardu- 
ous and important than any other in the Union, save that 
of the commander-in-chief. He, however, behaved with 
the greatest energy and intrepidity, not only as chief 
magistrate, but as actual head of the militia ; and, by his 
judicious measures, for a long time, resisted the attacks 
of the whole British army, commanded by Sir Henry 
Clinton. 

" By a vigorous exertion of authority in the impress- 
ment of flour, on an important occasion, he pi'eserved the 
army from dissolution. His conduct at the fstorming of 
forts Montgomery and Clinton, in October, 1777, was par- 
ticularly praiseworthy. He was greatly instrumental, 
also, in crushing the insurrection under Shays, which took 
place in Massachusetts, in 1787. 

" Governor Clinton was unanimously chosen president 
of the convention which assembled atPoughkeepsie, June 
17th, 1788, to deliberate on the new federal constitution. 
After remaining five years in private life, he was elected 
a member of the state legislature, at a time when the 
country was in an agitated and critical condition ; and it 
is affirmed that his influence was the principal cause of 
the great political revolution which took place in the state, 
in 1801. At that period, he was also induced to accept 
again the station of governor; and, after continuing in 
that capacity for three years, he was elevated to the vice- 
presidency of the United States, a dignity which he re- 
tained until his demise at Washington, April 20th, 1812. 

" The following anecdotes are related of his energy and 
decision. — ' At the conclusion of the revolutionary war, 
when violence against the toiies was the order of the day, 
a British officer was placed on a cart, in the city of New 
York, to be tarred and feathered. This was the signal of 
violence and assassination. Governor Clinton, at this 



/ 
BIOGRAPHY.-STEPHEN SAYKE. 377 

moment, rushed in among the mob with a drawn sword, 
and rescued the victim at the risk of his life.' 

" ' Some years afterwards, a furious assemblage of 
people collected, called the "doctors' mob," raged tluough 
New York, with the intention of killing the physicians of 
that city, and pulling down their houses, on account of 
their having dug up bodies for dissection. 

" ' The violence of this mob intimidated the local 
magistracy. Governor Clinton fortunately appeared in 
person, called out the militia, and restored peace to the 
city.' 

" He discharged the functions of vice-pi'esident of the 
United States, with great dignity. 

" In private life, he was kind and amiable, and warm 
in his friendships ; as a public man, he is entitled to re- 
spectful and grateful remembi'ance." 

Reading Lesson CLXX. 
MR. STEPHEN SAYRE, 

•' Was descended from Job Sayre, one of the first settlers 
of Southampton, Long Island, and born there, in 1745. 
He was conspicuous for personal elegance and accomplish- 
ments. Being a staunch whig, it is supposed that he went 
to London in 1775, as a confidential agent of his country, 
having resided there before, and was, of course, well 
versed in British affairs. He obtained admission to the 
best society, and was on terms of intimacy with many lead- 
ing men in the administration. He married a lady of 
rank and fortune, and, entering into commercial business 
in which he was highly successful, was, in 1773, choser 
high-sheriff of London. 

" On this occasion, he delivered a speech to the Livery 
of London, as follows : — 

" ' Gentlemen of the Livery : — It is impossible for mo 
to express the feelings of gratitude which predominate in 
my breast, upon the present occasion. The honor you 
have done me calls for a return, which a life entirely de- 
voted to your services only can make. I deem myself 
more highly favored, because I am well convinced, that 
nothing under heaven could have induced you to elect me 
into the office of sheriff, but an opinion of my indepen- 
dence, and sincere attachment to the public cause. I am 



378 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXX. 

independent : I will continue so. Upon public grounds 
only I presumed to solicit your favor: upon public grounds 
only I will study to deserve it. It shall be the labor of 
my life to convince you, that, in vesting me with your 
gracious choice, you have selected one who will strain 
every nerve in combating our common foe. I will labor 
assiduously to stop the progress of despotism : at least, I 
will, by a vigorous exertion of those powers with which 
you have entrusted me, prevent its making any inroads into 
this great, this opulent, this free and independent city.' " 

" His advocacy of the American cause, and consequent 
opposition to the arbitrary measures of the administration, 
drew down upon him the displeasure of the government: 
a charge of ti'eason was preferred against him ; and he 
was most unceremoniously thrown into the Tower. 

" The following account of t*he matter is from the ' Lon- 
don Public Ledger,' of October 25th, 1776 : — ' Two king's 
messengers, attended by a constable, repaired to the house 
of Stephen Sayre, Esquire, in Oxfoi'd street. As an ex- 
cuse to obtain an interview with him, they pretended that 
a forged draft for c£200 had been issued by the bank, of 
which Mr.- Sayre is a proprietor. He no sooner appeared, 
than they acquainted him that they had an order, signed, 
by lord Rochford, one of the secretaries of state, to take 
him into custody, on a charge of high treason, and to 
search for, take, and carry with them, such of his papers 
as they might deem effectual for their purposes. 

" * Mr. Sayre heard the summons with composure, and 
obeyed its dictates with manly dignity ; conscious of his 
innocence, he smiled at the malignity of the charge, and, 
in perfect reliance upon his own integrity, permitted the 
officers to search his tables and rifle his bureau. They 
conducted him to lord Rochford, where they also found 
Sir John Fielding. The charge in the information was, 
that Mr. Sayre had expressed an intention of seizing the 
king's person, as he went to the parliament house, and 
of taking possession of the Tower, &c. 

" ' The advice of Mr. Sayre's counsel, was, that he 
should not answer any interrogatories which lord Roch- 
ford or Sir John Fielding might put, nor sign any paper 
whatever. Mr. Sayre was then ordered into an adjoining 
apartment, and afterwards committed a close prisoner to 
the Tower. 



BIOGRAPHY.-JOHN JAY. 379 

"'On the 14th of December, 1776, he appeared at the 
Did Bailey; and his counsel, Mr. Arthur Lee, moved to 
Jischarge the recognizance entered into on the 28th of Oc- 
;ober last, on Mr. Sayre's being brought before lord Mans- 
iield, upon a writ of habeas corpus. Mr. baron Burland, 
who, with the lord mayor, presided at the court, accord- 
ngly discharged the recognizance ; and Mr. Sayre im- 
nediately gave orders to commence actions against lord 
Rochford, the under secretaries of state, and the king's 
33essengers.' " 

"In Gordon's History, it' is also stated that, 'in 1775, 
uany suspicions were entertained of combinations in favor 
3f America ; and, upon certain hints thrown out, Mr. Sayre, 
in American, and a banker in London, was secured; and 
Deing examined before the secretary of state, lord Roch- 
brd, and confronted by his accuser, was committed to the 
rower for high treason, on the ridiculous charge of de- 
signing to seize his majesty at noon-day, in his passage to 
;he house of peers, of conveying him a prisoner to the 
lower, and afterwards out of the kingdom, and of over- 
luriiing the whole form of government, by bribing a few 
sergeants of the guards.' " 

" Mr. Sayre remained some years after in London, and, 
5n his return to America, settled upon the Delaware, near 
Bordentown, New Jersey, where he spent the remainder 
af his days. The estate of Mr. Sayre became afterwards 
;he property of Joseph Bonaparte, ex-king of Spain." 

Reading Lesson CLXXI. 

JOHN JAY, 

'An eminent jurist and statesman, was bom in the city 
)f New York, December 1st, 1745, old style. After re- 
ceiving the elements of education, at a boarding-school, 
md under private tuition, he was placed, when fourteen 
fears of age, at King's (now Columbia) college, in his 
lative city. Here he devoted himself principally to 
hose branches which he deemed most important in 
reference to the profession of law, upon the study of 
^hich he entered, after receiving his bachelor's degree. 
i "In 1768, he was admitted to the bar, and, in 1774, 
vas chosen a delegate to the first American congress, 
vhich met at Philadelphia, and was placed on a commit- 



380 NEVV-YOKK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CLXXl. 

tee with Mr. Lee and Mr. Livingston, to draught an address 
to the people of Great Britain. It was prepared by Mr. 
Jay, and is one of the most eloquent productions of the 
time. 

"In the two following years, he was reelected, and [ 
served on various important committees. In 1776, he ! 
was chosen president of congress. In 1777, he was aj 
member of the convention which framed the constitution | 
of New York ; and the first di'aught of that instrument 
proceeded from his pen. 

" In the following year, when the government of New 
York was organized, he was appointed chief-justice of 
that state. In 1779, we find him again a member of con- 
gress, and in the chair of that body. From this, however, 
he was removed, in the same year, by his appointment as 
minister plenipotentiaiy to Spain. 

" The objects of Mr. Jay's mission were, to obtain from 
Spain an acknowledgment of our independence, to form 
a treaty of alliance, and to procure pecuniary aid. With 
regard to the fij"st two points, no satisfactory conclusion 
was obtained; and, in the summer of 17S2, Mr. Jay was 
appointed one of the commissioners to negotiate a peace 
with England, at the same time that he was authorized. 
to continue the negotiation with Spain. 

" In conjunction with Mr. Adams and Dr. Franklin, he 
resolved to disobey the instructions of congress, to follow, 
in all things, the advice of the French minister, count De 
Vergennes, who was embarrassing the negotiation with 
England, in order to benefit France, at the expense of 
the United States ; and, accordingly, they signed a treaty 
with the British minister, without consulting the count. 

" The definitive treaty having been signed, in Septem- 
ber, 1783, he soon afterwards resigned his commission, as 
minister to Spain, and, in May, 1784, embarked for the 
United States. He was then placed at the head of the 
department for foreign affairs, in which office he continued 
until the adoption of the present constitution, when he was 
appointed chief-justice of the United States. 

" In 1787, he received a serious wound in the forehead, 
from a stone, when acting as one of a volunteer corps to 
preserve the peace of the city, at the time of 'the doctors* 
mob.' He was, in consequence, confined to his bed, for 
some time, — a circumstance which obliged him to discon- 



BIOGRAPHY.— EGBERT BENSOxV. 381 

timie writing for the Federalist, to wliich he had already 
contributed several numbers. 

" In 1794, he was sent, as envoy extraordinaiy, to Great 
Britain, and concluded the ti'eaty which has been called 
after his name. Before his return in 1795, he had been 
elected governor of his native state, — a post which he oc- 
cupied until 1801. In that year, he declined a reelection, 
as well as a reappointment to the office of chief-justice of 
the United States, and retired to private life. 

" The remainder of his days was passed in devotion to 
study, particularly theological, and to practical benevo- 
lence. 

" He died, May 17th, 1829, universally honored and 
beloved. 

"He was a man of inflexible firmness of mind in the 
performance of duty, of great discernment, extensive in- 
formation, and fine talents as a writer. Although rather 
cautious with strangers, with friends he was affable and 
frank : economical in his expenses, he was, at the same 
time, generous towards every object worthy of his boun- 
ty. The letters between him and general Washington, — 
vai'ious extracts of which are contained in Marshall's his- 
tory, — exhibit the elevated place he held in the confidence 
and esteem of that illustrious man." 

Reading Lesson CLXXII. 
HON. EGBERT BENSON, 

Says chancellor Kent, in his brief memoir of judge Ben- 
son, " was born in the city of New York, June 21st, 1746, 
of respectable Dutch parents, and was educated at King's 
(now Columbia) college, where he was graduated, in 1765. 
He was one of those sound classical scholars, for the for- 
mation of whom, that learned seminary always has been, 
and still is, most justly distinguished. His taste for classi- 
cal literature never forsook him, even during the strength 
and vigor of his age, and amidst the ardor of official duties. 
His legal education was acquired in the office of John 
Morin Scott, one of that band of deep-read and thorough 
lawyers of the old school, who were an ornament to the 
city, at the commencement of the revolution. 

" When he came to the bai", there were very few, if 
any, better instructed in the ancient and modern learning 



382 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXXIt. 

of tlie English common law. To great quicl<nes9 and 
acuteness of mind, and profound discernment of charac- 
ter, he added much deliberation and candor. He was a 
master of order and method in business. If he was not 
the first, he was one of the first proficients in the science 
of pleading ; and his equal does not exist, at the present 
day. But, though a strict technical lawyer, he did not 
cease to penetrate the depths of the science, and rest him- 
self upon fundamental principles. He was more distin- 
guished than any man among us, — Hamilton alone ex- 
cepted, — for going, in all researches, to the reasons and 
grounds of the law, and placing his opinion on what he 
deemed to be solid and elementary principles. 

" His morals and manners were pure and chaste. He 
was liberal and catholic in his sentiments, without the 
smallest tincture of fanaticism or affectation of austerity ; 
and nothing could weaken his faith or disturb his tran- 
quillity, though he had to pass through the storms of a 
tempestuous age, in which the French revolution, and the 
daring speculations which accompanied it, attacked equal- 
ly the foundations of religious belief, and the best institu- 
tions of social life. 

" Mr. Benson commenced the practice of law at Red 
Hook, Dutchess county, in 1772 ; but before he had lime 
to enter largely into business, or to acquire much more 
than a scanty temporary provision for his support, the 
American war broke out, and raised him, at once, to an 
elevated scene of action. Here his abilities and spirit 
were brought to a test, and proved to be of sterling value. 
He was present at, and guided, the earliest meetings in 
Dutchess county, preparatory to a more organized resist- 
ance to the claims of the British government. He took 
the lead in all the Whig measures adopted in that coun- 
ty ; a more zealous and determined patriot, or one more 
thoroughly master of the grounds of the great national 
contest, did not exist. 

*' It followed, of course, that his knowledge of law and 
of the enlightened principles of civil liberty, and his prac- 
tical and business talents, would caiTy him forward rapidly 
to places of high public trust. He was, accordingly, ap- 
pointed first attorney-general of this state, by the ordinance 
of the convention of the 8th of May, 1777 ; and this pain- 
ful and most responsible office, he discharged with the 



BIOGRAPHY.— EGBERT BENSON. 383 

Utmost zeal, ability, and integrity, during the whole 
period of the American war, and down to the spring of 
1787, when he voluntarily resigned it, on assuming other 
public duties. 

" He was a member of the first legislative assembly of 
this state, elected in 1777. His name, in the public 
opinion, seemed to be identified with wisdom, patriotism, 
and integrity. He draughted almost every important bill 
that passed the assembly during the war; and it is matter 
of public notoriety, with those persons whose memories 
can date back to that period, that his name truly merits 
this transcendent eulogy. 

" During the war, he was the most confidential and ef- 
ficient adviser of the elder governor Clinton ; and it is 
well known that no governor had greater difficulties to 
contend with, or sui'mounted them with better discretion 
and firmness. He was importuned and taxed with a 
perplexing variety of public concerns, during the most 
busy and perilous period of our revolutionary history. 
He was president of the board of commissioners in Dut- 
chess county for detecting and defeating conspiracies ; 
and it was under this authority that the board, in July, 
1778, sent the Hon. William Smith, the historian of New 
York, into the British lines ; who did not fail to complain 
severely of the stern and inflexible manner in which the 
chairman of the commissioners had exerted that power." 

Reading Lesson CLXXIII. 

Life of Egbert Benson, continued. 

" Amidst the various and important duties of his several 
trusts, he was brought in contact, and foimed friendships 
with, that host of eminent men, who then swayed the 
councils of the state. A common sympathy, as well as a 
common interest, is excited and felt, at times of public 
calamity, and leads to generous and disinterested actions. 
Mutual respect and strong friendships were created and 
subsisted between Mr. Benson and governor Clinton, 
general Schuyler, chief-justice Jay, chancellor Livingston, 
judge Hobart, James Duane, Alexander McDougal, 
Alexander Hamilton, William Duer, and a roll of other 
distinguished patriots, who adorn the page of our revolu- 
tionary history ; and we need no better evidence of the 



384 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXXIII. 

great and useful talents of Mr. Benson, than to know the 
fact that he was admired and beloved, and his counsels 
and society anxiously sought after, by all the leading men 
of the state, during the best and brightest period of our 
domestic history. 

" He took a zealous part in the adoption of the consti- 
tution of the United States, on which, as he uniformly 
thought and declared, he rested all his hopes of American 
liberty, safety, and glory. No person could be more de- 
Voted to its success. 

" In 1789, he was elected one of the six representatives 
fi'om this state to the first congress, in which he continued 
four years. He drew the bills organizing the executive 
department of the government ; and he labored incessant- 
ly to further and sustain the measures that distinguished 
the glorious and unparalleled administration of Washing- 
ton. In this situation, he had the happiness to add large- 
ly to the number of his particular friends, and to associate, 
on cordial and confidential terms, with such men as George 
Cabot, Fisher Ames, Oliver Ellsworth, Rufus King, Will- 
iam Patterson, George Glymer, and others of the same 
brilliant stamp, with whom there was an equal inter- 
change of respect and esteem. As for Hamilton, he never 
thought or spoke of him, without expressing his highest 
admiration of his talents, and reverence for his patriot- 
ism. Of Fisher Ames he used to say, that he thought 
him the most perfect man he ever knew, and that he had 
the purity and wisdom of a seraph. 

"In 1794, Mr. Benson was called into judicial life, and 
appointed a judge of the supreme court of this state ; in 
which situation he remained several years, and fulfilled 
all its duties with the utmost precision, diligence, and 
fidelity. He did more to reform the practice of that court' 
than any member of it ever did before, or ever did since. 
He resigned in 1801, on receiving the appointment of 
chief judge in the second circuit, under a new arrange-] 
ment of the circuit courts of the United States ; but was] 
deprived of the office by a repeal, in the following year,! 
of the statute creating the new courts. 

" During the remainder of his life, judge Benson was] 
principally confined to the occasional calls of professional] 
duty, and with short assumptions of places of public ti'ust. 
He was a regent of the university from 1787 to 1802. Hei 



BIOGRAPHV.-ROBERT E. LIVINGSTON. 385 

removed, many years ago, to Jamaica, where he continued 
during the I'est of his life, boarding in the family of Mr. 
William Printine. He continued to be blessed with a 
protracted old age, ' exempt from scorn or crime,' and that 
' glided in modest innocence away ;' while the circle of 
his old friends and acquaintance became gradually more 
contracted, as his descending sun was casting his length- 
ened shadows befoj-e him. 

" He used to amuse himself with the publication, now 
and then, of short tracts on what he deemed the errors 
and follies of the times; for he had naturally a quick and 
keen perception of the false and ridiculous; and the flame 
of genuine patriotism never ceased to live and glow in his 
bosom, — of which his criticism on the 'British Rule of 
1756,' and his ' Vindication of the Captors of Andre,' may 
be cited as examples." 

Reading Lesson CLXXIV. 
ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON, 

" Eminent as a politician, was born in the city of New- 
York, November 27th, 1746. He was educated at King's 
college, and was graduated in 1765. He studied and 
practised law, in New York, with great success. 

" Near the commencement of the American revolution, 
he lost the office of recorder, on account of his attach- 
ment to liberty, and was elected to the first general con- 
j gress of the colonies. He was one of the committee who 
prepared the Declaration of Independence; and, in 1780, 
was appointed secretary of foreign affairs ; and, through- 
out the war of the revolution, he signalized himself by his 
zeal and efficiency in the revolutionary cause. 

" At the adoption of the constitution of New York, he 
was appointed chancellor of that state, which office he 
held, until he went, in 1801, to France, as minister pleni- 
potentiary, appointed by president Jefferson. He w^as 
received by Napoleon Bonaparte, then first consul, with 
marked respect and cordiality ; and, during a residence 
of several years in the French capital, the chancellor ap- 
peared to be the favorite foreign envoy. 
I " He conducted, with the aid of Mr. Monroe, the ne- 
gotiation which ended in the cession of Louisiana to the 
United States, took leave of the first consul, in 1804, and 

R 



386 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CLXXV. 

made an extensive tour on the continent of Europe. On 
his return from Paris, as a private citizen, Napoleon, then 
emperor, presented to him a splendid snuft-box, with a 
miniature likeness of himself, (Napoleon,) painted by the 
celebrated Isabey. 

•' It was in Paris that chancellor Livingston formed a 
friendship and close personal intimacy with Robert Ful- 
ton, whom he materially assisted with counsel and money, 
to mature his plans of steam navigation. 

" In 1805, Mr. Livingston returned to the United States, 
and thenceforward employed himself in promoting the 
arts and agriculture. He introduced into the state of New 
York the use of gypsum, and the Merino race of sheep. 
He was president of the New-York academy of fine arts, 
of which he was a chief founder, and, also, of the society 
for the promotion of agriculture. He died, March 26th, 
1813, with the reputation of an able statesman, a learned 
lawyer, and a most useful citizen." 

Reading Lesson CLXXV. 
CAPTAIN CALEB BREWSTER, 

" Was a descendant of elder William Brewster, of Ply- 
mouth, one of those worthies who arrived in the May Flow- 
er, in December, 1620. 

" The father of Mr. Brewster was a farmer, and, as was 
too often the custom of that day, gave his son only a lim- 
ited education. Caleb was born at Setauket, Long Island, 
in 1747, and learned such branches as were taught in the 
country schools of that period, comprehending little else 
than reading, writing, and arithmetic. Being naturally , 
of an ardent and enterprising disposition, and anxious to i 
explore beyond the confines of his native town, he chose ' 
the life of a sailor ; and, at the age of nineteen, engaged 
himself on board a whaling vessel, commanded by captain 
Jonathan Worth, bound to the coast of Greenland. His 
next voyage was to London in a merchant ship; and, 
upon his return, he found his country involved in the rev-' 
olutionary contest, 

" His enthusiasm in the cause of liberty did not allow 
him to hesitate, for a moment, as to the course which his 
duty called him to pursue ; and he immediately volun- 
teered his services in securing American independence. 



BIOGRAPHY.— CAPT. BREWSTER. 387 

He was honored, in a short time, with the commission of 
heutenant of artillery, and, from that time forward, was 
eminently distinguished for zeal and intrepidity ; possess- 
ing, to the fullest extent, the confidence of the officers of 
the army, and that of the commander-in-chief. 

" In short, such was the exalted opinion entertained of 
his integrity, courage, patriotism, and prudence, that, in 
1778, he was employed as a confidential and secret agent 
of congress ; and he devoted himself, through the re- 
mainder of the struggle, in procuring and transmitting the 
most minute, accurate, and important intelligence relative 
to the movements and intentions of the enemy at different 
points, and particularly in New York and on Long Island ; 
for which he was uncommonly well qualified, as well by 
his intimate topographical knowledge of the country, as 
his acquaintance with the people on both sides of the 
great political question, and therefore knew in whom, of 
either party, he could venture to confide. 

" He was among those, who, under colonel Parsons, 
crossed, the Sound to Long Island in August, 1777, for 
the purpose of capturing a body of British and tories, 
which, under colonel Hewlett, had taken possession of and 
garrisoned the presbyterian church at Setauket. On the 
23d of June, 1780, he was appointed captain of artillery, 
and was frequently engaged with separate gangs of ma- 
rauders, who sometimes extended their predatory excur- 
sions upon the main. 

" In November, 1780, he was a volunteer with Benajah 
Strong and Heathcote Muirson, in the expedition under 
major Tallmadge, to the south side of Long Island, where 
they surprised and took prisoners a party of British troops 
encamped upon Smith's Point at Mastic, and, on their re- 
turn, destroyed a large quantity of hay and military stores 
at Corum. In 1781, he engaged with and captured an 
armed boat, with her whole crew, in the Sound, which he 
carried safely into Black-Rock harbor." 

Reading Lesson CLXXVI. 
lAfe oj captain Brewster, continued' 

" On the 7th of December, 1782, captain Brewster, with 
1 the whale-boats under his command, gave chase to several 
armed boats of the enemv in the Sound; and, after a des- 



388 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CLXXVI 

perate encounter, in which most of the men on both sides 
were either killed or wounded, he succeeded in capturing 
two of the enemy's boats. This action has generally been 
denominated, by way of distinction, the ' boat fight ;' and, 
at the time, was justly considered, in connection with its 
attendant circumstances, one of the most valorous and ex- 
traordinary engagements of that portentous period. 

" It was, indeed, a truly perilous adventure ; yet the 
contest lasted only twenty minutes ; and some of his boats 
refusing to come up, he was compelled, from his peculiar 
situation, to engage with the enemy almost single-handed. 
During this short but terrible conflict, his shoulder was 
pierced by a rifle ball, which passed out at his back. His 
prudence and resolution enabled him to keep this occur- 
rence a profound secret, till the enemy surrendered, when 
he found himself exhausted from the effusion of blood. 

" After reaching the shore, he was confined, under the 
hands of a surgeon, for some time ; for the injury thus re- 
ceived, he was placed upon the pension-roll of the army, 
and continued to receive a gratuity from his country, for 
the remainder of his life. He participated in several 
other important and hazardous engagements, while at- 
tached to the line of the army, the interesting particulars 
of which it is impossible to ascertain, as none of his com- 
patriots and coadjutors, on those occasions, are now living. 

" On the 9th of March, 1783, he took command of a 
sloop at Fairfield, for the purpose of attacking the Fox, a 
British armed vessel in the Sound ; and, as soon as he 
came near, he ordered his men to board her with fixed 
bayonets, himself leading the way. In less than two min- 
utes, she became their prize. Captain Johnson, of the 
Fox, and two men, were killed, and several others 
wounded ; while captain Brewster had not a person in- 
jured. 

" This extraordinary exertion on his part, was more 
than his state of health could endure ; and, in conse- 
quence of it, he was confined to his bed for several 
months. When he recovered, the preliminaries of peace 
had been exchanged ; and his beloved country had as- 
sumed her appropriate station among the free nations of 
the earth. 

" In 1793, he was commissioned as lieutenant of the 
revenue-cutter, for the district of New York ; and such 



BIOGRAPHY.— GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 389 

was his well-known skill and prudence, that, on the death 
of captain Dennis, soon after, he was appointed her com- 
mander, which he retained till 1816, with the exception 
of three yeaas of Mr. Adams's administration, to which 
he was opposed. In that year, he retired to his farm at 
Black Rock, where he departed this life, at the age of 
seventy-nine years, February 13th, 1S27. 

" In stature, captain Brewster was above the common 
size, of fine proportions, a commanding countenance, a 
constitution athletic and vigorous, and of extraordinary 
activity. His talent for wit and humor was almost un- 
rivalled ; and, for relating anecdotes, few men could be 
found more entertaining." 

Reading Lesson CLXXVII. 

GOUVERNEUR MORRIS, 

" Eminent as a statesman and an orator, was bom at Mor- 
risania, near the city of New York, January 31st, 1752. 
He was educated at King's college, in that city, where 
he was graduated bachelor of arts, in May, 1768. 

" Immediately after, he entered the office of William 
Smith, the historian of the colony, as a student of law. 
In 1771, he was licensed to practise. His proficiency in 
all his studies, was remarkable. He acquired, early, much 
reputation, as a man of brilliant talents and various prom- 
ise. His person, address, manners, and elocution, were 
of a superior order. 

" In May, 1775, Mr. Morris was chosen a delegate to 
the provincial congress of New York. In June, of that 
year, he served on a committee with general Montgomery, 
to confer with general Washington, respecting the manner 
of the latter's introduction to the congress. He entered 
with zeal and efficiency into all the measures preparatory 
to a vigorous resistance to the pretensions of the mother 
country. 

" In December, 1776, he acted as one of the committee 
for draughting a constitution for the state of New York, 
which was reported in March, and adopted in April, of 
the following year, after repeated and very able debates, 
in which Jay, Morris, and Robert R. Livingston, were the 
principal speakers. 

" In July, 1777, he served as member of a committee 



390 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXXVIIL 

from the New- York congress, to repair to the head-quar- 
ters of Schuyler's army, to inquire into the causes of the 
evacuation of Ticonderoga. In October of that year, he 
joined the continental congress at York, Pennsylvania, 
and, in 1778, wrote the patriotic and successful pamphlet 
called Observations on the American Revolution, which 
he published at the beginning of 1779. The journals of 
congress amply testify to his many and valuable services, 
rendered in that body, to the revolutionary cause. 

" In July, 1781, he accepted the post of assistant super- 
intendent of finance, as the colleague of Robert Morris. 
Every office to which he was called, he filled with char- 
acteristic zeal and ability. 

" After the war of the revolution, he embarked, with 
Robert Morris, in mercantile enterprises. In 1785, he 
published an Address to the Assembly of Pennsylvania, 
on the abolition of the bank of North America, in which 
he cogently argued against that project. 

"In December, 1786, he purchased from his brother 
the fine estate of Morrisania, and made it his dwelling- 
place. Here he devoted himself to liberal studies. In 
the following year, he served, with distinction, as a mem- 
ber of the convention for framing the constitution of the 
United States." 

Reading Lesson CLXXVIII. 

Life of Gouverneur Morris, continued. 

"On the 15th of December, 1788, he sailed for France, 
where he was occupied in selling lands, and pursuing 
money speculations, until March, 1790, when he proceed- 
ed to London, as private agent of the American govern- 
ment, and with a view to ascertain the inclination of the 
British cabinet to form a commercial treaty. In Novem- 
ber, 1790, he returned to Paris, having made a tour in 
Germany. In the interval between this period and the 
beginning of the year 1792, he passed, several times, on 
public business, between the British and French capitals. 

" On the 6th of February, 1792, he received his ap- 
pointment as minister plenipotentiary to France, and was 
presented to the king, June 3d. He held this station, with 
much distinction, until October, 1794. He witnessed the 
most interesting scenes of the revolution in the capital. 



BIOGRAPIIY.-GOUVERNEUR MORRIS. 391 

and maintained personal intercourse with the conspicuous 
politicians of the several parties. 

" The abundant memorials which he has left of his 
sojourn in France, and his travels on the European conti- 
nent, possess the highest interest and much historical 
value. He made extensive journeys, after he ceased, to 
be minister plenipotentiary, of which he kept a full diary. 
In the autumn of 1798, Mr. Morris returned to the United 
States, to engage in politics with enhanced celebrity, and 
a large additional stock of political and literary knowl- 
edge. He was universally admitted to be one of the most 
prominent and accomplished gentlemen of his country. 

" In 1800, he entered the senate of the United States, 
where his eloquence and extensive information made him 
conspicuous. The two eulogies which he pronounced, — 
one on general Washington, and the other at the funeral 
of general Hamilton, — are specimens of his rhetorical 
style. His delivery was excellent. 

•' Mr. Morris, at an early period, gave special and saga- 
cious attention to the project of the grand canal, by which 
the state of New York has been so much honored and 
benefited. In the summer of 1810, he examined the 
canal route to lake Erie, and subsequently took a promi- 
nent part in originating and promoting that noble work. 

" In May, 1812, he pronounced a public and impressive 
eulogium on the venerable George Clinton ; in the same 
year, he delivered an oration before the New-York his- 
torical society; in 1814, another on the restoration of the 
Bourbons in France; and, in 1816, a discourse before 
the New- York historical society. 

" Mr. Morris died at Morrisania, on the 5th of Novem- 
ber, 1816. He had passed the latter years of his life on 
his estate, exercising an elegant and. munificent hospi- 
tality, reviewing the studies of his early days, and carry- 
incr on a very interesting commerce of letters with states- 
men and literati in Europe and America. The activity 
of his mind, the richness of his fancy, and the copiousness 
of his eloquent conversation, were the admiration of all 
his acquaintance. A selection from his voluminous and 
valuable papers, accompanied by a sketch of his life, has 
been published by Mr. Jared Sparks." 



398 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CLXXIX. 

Reading Lesson CLXXIX. 
COLONEL BENJAMIN TALLMADGE. 

" This able soldier, statesman, and patriot, who has re- 
''ceived the most honorable notice in the histories of his 
time, as a highly brave, active, and entei'prising officer 
of the revolution, was the second son of the Rev. Benja- 
min Tallmadge of Setauket, Long Island, where he was 
born, February 25th, 1754. 

" He very early exhibited a fondness for learning, and, 
under the tuition of his fatlier, who was an excellent clas- 
sical scholar, made such progress, that, at twelve years of 
age, he was examined by President Dagget, of Yale col- 
lege, then on a visit to Brookhaven, and found well qual- 
ified to enter that institution. He did not enter, however, 
till some years after, and was graduated in 1773. Soon 
after, he was invited to take charge of the high school at 
Wethersfield, which station he held, with pleasure to him- 
self and satisfaction to the public, until the bloody scenes 
of Lexington and Bunkerhill, induced his entrance into 
the army. 

" The legislatui'e of Connecticut having resolved to 
raise their quota of troops for the campaign of 1776, he 
accepted a commission of lieutenant, and soon after re- 
ceived the appointment of adjutant, in the regiment of 
colonel Chester, He joined his regiment in New York, 
in June, from which time to the end of the war, he was 
in constant and active service. 

" He was engaged in the battle of Long Island, on the 
27th of August, 1776, and was one of the rear-guard, 
when the army retired to New York, from their lines at 
Brooklyn. Before the regiment to which he belonged was 
discharged, he received the appointment of captain of the 
first troop, in the second regiment of dragoons. The com- 
mission was dated December 14th, 1776. The regiment 
was ordered to rendezvous at Wethei'sfield, where the 
winter was occupied in preparing for the campaign of 
1777. 

" In the course of this year, he received the commission 
of major, and was honored with the confidence of the com- 
mander-in-chief, and the principal officers of the army. 
He was in most of the general battles that took place with 



BIOGRAPHY.-COL. TALLMADGE. 393 

the main army in the northern states, at Long Island, 
White Plains, Braudywine, Monmouth, Germantown, and 
White Marsh. He opened, this year, a secret correspond- 
ence, for general Washington, with some persons in New 
York, and, particularly, with the late Abraham Woodhull 
of Setauket, which lasted through the war. He kept one 
or more boats constantly employed in crossing the Sound, 
on this business. 

" On Lloyd's Neck, an elevated promontory between 
Huntingdon and Oyster Bay, the enemy had established a 
strongly fortified post, with a garrison of about five hun- 
dred men. In the rear of this fort, a band of marauders 
had encamped themselves, who, having boats at command, 
were constantly plundering the inhabitants along the main 
shore, and robbing the small vessels in the Sound. This 
horde of banditti major Tallmadge had a great desire to 
break up ; and, on the 5th of September, 1777, embarked 
with one hundred and thirty men of his detachment, at 
Shippan Point, near Stamfin'd, at eight o'clock in the 
evening. In about two hours, they landed on Lloyd's 
Neck, and proceeded to the attack, which was so sudden 
and unexpected, that nearly the whole party was captured, 
and landed in Connecticut before morning. Not a man 
was lost in the enterprise. 

" For the purpose of breaking up the whole system of 
intercourse between the enemy and the disaffected, on 
the main, he was appointed to a separate command, con- 
sisting of the dismounted dragoons of the regiment and a 
body of horse. While stationed near North Castle, a 
prisoner was brought in, calling himself John Andersen, 
and who turned out to be major Andre, on his way to 
i New York, after his interview, near West Point, with 
the infamous general Arnold. Of this prisoner, major 
Tallmadge had the custody up to the day of his execution, 
and walked with him to the gallows at Tappan, October 
2d, 1780. 

Reading Lesson CLXXX. 

Life of colonel Tallmadge, continued. 

" In November of the same year, he resumed his fa- 
vorite scheme of annoying the enemy on Long Island, and 
having obtained the most accurate information of fort 

R* 



394 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXXX. 

St. George, erected on a point projecting into the south 
bay at Mastic, he communicated his pri)ject to the com- 
mander-in-chief, who, considering the attempt as too 
hazardous, desired him to abandon it. Having crossed 
the Sound, and examined the particular condition of the 
post, he was finally authorized, by Washington, to risk 
the enterprise. 

" Major Tallmadge ordered the detachment to repair 
to Fairfield. Here, being luet by other troops, the party 
embarked, on the 21st of November, 1780, at four o'clock, 
jp. 771., in eight whale-boats. The whole number, including 
the crews of the boats, amounted to eighty men. They 
crossed the Sound in four hours, and landed at 'Old 
Man's,' at nine o'clock. After leaving their boats, the 
body of the troops had marched about five miles, when, 
it beginning to rain, they returned, and took shelter under 
their boats, and lay concealed in the bushes, all that night 
and the next day. 

" At evening, the rain abating, the troops were again 
put in motion, and, at three o'clock in the morning, were 
within two miles of the fort. Here he divided his men 
into three parties, ordering each to attack the fort, at the 
same time, at different points. The order was so well 
executed, that the three divisions arrived nearly at the 
same moment. It was a triangular enclosure of several 
acres, with strongly stockaded, well barricaded houses at 
two of the angles, and, at the third, a fort, with a deep 
ditch and wall, encircled by an abatis of sharpened pick- 
ets, projecting at an angle of forty-five degrees. The 
stockade was cut down, the column led through the grand 
parade ; and, in ten minutes, the main fort was carried 
by the bayonet. 

" The vessels near the fort, laden with stores, attempted 
to escape; but the guns of the fort being brought to bear 
upon them, they were secured and burned, as were the 
works and stores. The number of prisoners was fifty-four, 
of whom seven were wounded. While they were march- 
ed to the boats under an escort, majoi» Tallmadge pro- 
ceeded with the remainder of his detachment, destroyed 
about three hundred tons of hay, collected at Corum, and 
returned to the place of debarkation, just as the party with 
the prisoners had arrived, and reached Fairfield, by eleven 
o'clock, the same evening ; having accomplished the en- 



BIOGRAPHy.— COL. TALLMADGE. 395 

terprise, including a march of forty miles by land, and as 
much by water, without the loss of a man. 

" Congress passed a resolve complimentary to the com- 
mander and troops engaged in this expedition, which was 
pronounced to have been planned and conducted with 
wisdom and great gallantry, by major Tallmadge, and ex- 
ecuted with intrepidity and complete success, by the offi- 
cers and soldiers of his detachment. 

" During that part of the campaign of 1781 in which 
the main army was in Virginia, major Tallmadge was left 
with the forces under general Heath, in the highlands on 
the Hudson ; still, however, holding a separate command, 
he moved wherever duty or a spirit of enterprise dictated. 
In continuation of his former design of annoying the 
enemy upon Long Island, he marched his detachment to 
Norwalk ; and as fort Slongo, at Tredwell's Bank, near 
Smithtown, was possessed by a British force, he deter- 
mined to destroy it. 

"On the night of the 9th of October, 1781, he em- 
barked a part of his troops under the command of major 
Prescott, with orders to assail the fort, at a particular 
point. At the dawn of day, the attack was made, the 
fortress subdued, the block-house and other combustible 
materials burned ; and the detachment returned in safely 
with their prisoners, and a handsome piece of brass ar- 
tillery." 

Reading Lesson CLXXXL 

Life of colonel Tallmadge, continued. 

" On the 11th of April preceding, major Tallmadge sent 
a note to general Washington, wherein he says : * At 
Lloyd's Neck, it is supposed, are assembled about eight 
hundred men, chiefly refugees or deserters from our ar- 
my. Of this number, there may be about four hundred 
and fifty, or five hundred, properly armed. Their naval 
squadron consists of one vessel of sixteen guns, two small 
privateers, and a galley. About eight miles east of 
Lloyd's Neck, they have a post at Tredwell's Bank, of 
about one hundred and forty men, chiefly wood-cutters, 
armed. I have seen an accurate draft of this post and 
works.' He believed that, if two frigates should enter 
the Sound, in the absence of the British fleet, and, at the 
same time, a suitable body of troops were embarked in 



396 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXXXF. 

boats, the posts might be cut off; and he offered to aid or 
diiect an enterprise for such an object. To this proposi- 
tion the commander-in-chief replied as follows : — 

" 'New Wintlsor, April 8th, 1781. 
" * Sir : — The success of the supposed enterprise must 
depend on the absence of the British fleet, the secrecy of 
the attempt, and a knowledge of the exact situation of the 
enemy. If, after you have been at the westward, the cir- 
cumstances, from your intelligence, shall still appear favor- 
able, you will be at liberty to be the bearer of a letter to 
the count De Rochambeau, to whose determination I have 
referred the matter. Yours, etc., 

" ' G. Washington.' 

" Nothing more is heard of this matter till the July fol- 
lowing, when the count De Barras, having no employment 
for his squadron at Newport, detached, for this service, 
three frigates, with two hundred and fifty land troops, the 
whole under the command of the baron D'Angely. The 
detachment sailed on the 10th of July, and was joined, in 
the Sound, by several boats, with a few volunteers and pi- 
lots from Fairfield. But it was soon evident that the fort on 
Lloyd's Neck was much stronger than had been supposed, 
and not to be carried without the help of cannon, which 
had not been provided. The party, after a few shots 
from the fort, reembarked, having two or three killed and 
wounded. 

" After the affair of fort Slongo, major Tallmadge re- 
turned to the neighborhood of White Plains, where he 
found full employment, in guarding the inhabitants against 
the refugee corps under colonel Delancey, and the ' cow- 
boys and skinners,' who infested the lines. In the course 
of the ensuing winter, he took his station on the Sound, 
and arranged another plan to beat up the enemy's quar- 
ters on Long Island ; but a violent storm prevented its 
being carried into effect; he succeeded, however, in cap- 
turing many of the enemy's vessels engaged in illicit 
trade between the opposite shores, and several cargoes 
of valuable goods were taken and condemned. 

" The secret correspondence conducted by major Tall- 
madge, during several years, within the British lines, has 
been before alluded to. And when the American army 
was about to enter the city of New York, after the peace, 



BIOGRAPHY.— MORGAN LEWIS, 397 

he entered before it was evacuated by the British, that he 
might afford protection to those who where the secret 
friends of their country, and who otherwise would have 
been exposed to ill treatment, as refugees or tories. He 
retii'ed from the army with the rank of colonel. He was, 
for several years, treasurer, and afterwards president, of 
the Cincinnati society. 

" In 1800, colonel Tallmadge was chosen a representa- 
tive in congress from Connecticut ; having been for many 
years previous, engaged in mercantile business, in Litch- 
field. He was in congress during eight successive elec- 
tions, a firm and judicious member of that body, and 
watchful of the political interest of a country, whose in- 
dependence he had so nobly contributed to achieve. 
After sixteen years of service in the national legislature, 
he declined a reelection, and retired, with dignity and 
honor, to the shades of private life. He was, however, 
by no means an indifferent spectator of passing events, 
but felt truly anxious for the future glory and welfare of 
his country. To public objects of charity and benevo- 
lence, it has been observed, he always gave largely and 
freely. 

" He died at Litchfield, March 7th, 1835." 



Reading Lesson CLXXXIL 

GENERAL MORGAN LEWIS, 

" Was the son of Mr. Francis Lewis, one of the signers 
of the Declaration of Independence, and was born in the 
city of New York, October 16th, 1754. He was gradu- 
ated at Princeton college, in 1773, when he entered upon 
the study of law in the office of Mr. Jay, afterwards chief- 
justice. 

" On the breaking out of the war of the revolution, in 
1775, he joined the American army under general Wash- 
ington, in the neighborhood of Boston, and continued in 
active service, until the peace. During the contest, he 
distinguished himself, on various occasions, particularly 
at Saratoga, where, with the rank of colonel, he held the 
office of quarter-master-general, under general Gates, and, 
subsequently, in the operations undertaken by general 
Clinton, in the northern part of the state of New York, 



398 NEW YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXXXIIL 

against Sir John Johnson's mixed force of British regu- 
lars and savages. 

" At the end of the war, he resumed his profession of 
the law, and was, shortly after, elected a member of the 
state legislature, from the city of New York. He next 
represented, in the same body, the county of Dutchess, 
whither he had removed ; and was then appointed, suc- 
cessively, a judge of the court of common pleas, attorney- 
general of the state, a judge of the supreme court, and, in 
1801, chief-justice of the same court. 

"In 1804, he was elected governor of New York; in 
1810, he served as a member of the senate of that state ; 
and, in 1812, he was appointed quarter-master-general of 
the United Slates army, with the rank of a brigadiei'- 
general, 

" The last-mentioned office he held, however, only for 
about ten months, being promoted in March, 1813, to the 
rank of a major-general. In the earlier part of the cam- 
pain of that year, he acted under the orders of general 
Dearborn, on the Niagara frontier ; and, in the latter part 
of it, he accompanied general Wilkinson in his expedition 
down the river St. Lawrence, against Montreal. 

" In 1814, he was entrusted with the command of the 
forces destined for the defence of the city and harbor of 
New York from an apprehended attack of the enemy. 

" From the close of the war, 1815, down to the period 
of his death, general Lewis lived in retirement from all 
public duties, with the single exception of an oration 
which he delivered, — he being then in his seventy-eighth 
year, — by the request of the corporation of the city of 
New York, on the 22d of February, 1832; that day be- 
ing the centennial anniversary of the birth of the ' father 
of his country.' "- 

Reading Lesson CLXXXIII. 

COMMODORE THOMAS TRUXTUN, 

" Whose achievements shed lustre on the infant navy of 
this country, was the son of an eminent English lawyer 
of the (then) colony of New York, and born at Jamaica, 
Long Island, on the 17th of February, 1755. — While 
yet a child, he was, in consequence of the death of his 
father, placed under the guardianship of his father's inti- 



BIOGRAPHY.— COM. TRUXTUN. 399 

mate friend, John Troup, Esq., of Jamaica, who bestowed 
every kind attention on him which his bereaved situation 
required. 

" At the age of twelve years, he made choice of the 
profession of a sailor, and entered on board a ship bound 
to Bristol ; and, the next year, at his own request, was 
bound apprentice to captain Chambers, a well-known 
commander in the London trade. In the dispute relative 
to the Falkland islands, he was impressed on board a 
British sixty-four. 

" In 1775, he commanded a vessel, and brought a con- 
siderable quantity of powder into the colony ; but his 
vessel was afterwards taken and condemned. Having 
airived, soon after, at Philadelphia, he sailed, early in 
1776, as lieutenant in the private armed ship Congress, 
and captured several valuable Jamaica ships off Havana, 
and, taking command of one of them, brought her safe 
into New Bedford. 

" In 1777, in conjunction with Isaac Sears, he fitted out 
a vessel, called the Independence, of which he took com- 
mand ; and, off the Azores, besides making several other 
prizes, he fell in with a pait of the Windward-Island 
convoy, of which he captured three large and valuable 
ships, one of which was superior to his own, in guns and 
men. On his return, he fitted out the ship Mars, mount- 
ing upwards of twenty guns, and sailed on a cruise in the 
English channel, and took many prizes. Sailing in the 
St. James, of twenty guns, he disabled a British ship, of 
thirty-two guns. He returned from France, with a most 
valuable cargo. On his return, he settled in Philadelphia, 
was part owner of several armed vessels built there, and 
brought, from France and the West-India islands, large 
cargoes of such articles as were of the first necessity for 
the army. 

"After the peace in 1783, he turned his attention to 
commerce, and was concerned in an extensive trade to 
Europe, China, and the East Indies, until the commence- 
ment of our naval establishment, in 1794 ; when he was 
one of the first six captains selected by president Wash- 
ington. He superintended the building of the Constella- 
tion, of thirty-six guns ; and in her he was, the same year, 
appointed, with a squadron under his command, to pi'otect 
the American commerce in the West Indies ; and such 



400 NEW YOKK CLASS BOOK.-LESSON CLXXXUI. 

was his vigilance and success, that an enemy's privateer 
could scarcely look out of port without being captured. 

"On the 9th of February, 1799, he engaged, in the 
Constellation, and captured, the French frigate L'lnsur- 
gente, of forty guns and four hundred and seventeen men, 
twenty-nine of whom were killed and forty-four wound- 
ed; while, on board his own ship, he had but one killed 
and two wounded. He received congratulatory addresses 
from all quarters; and the merchants at Lloyd's coffee- 
house, sent him a service of plate, valued at six hundred 
guineas, with the action between the frigates engraved 
upon it ; which offering was presented through Mr. King, 
our minister at London. 

" Captain Barreau of L'Insurgente, says, in a letter to 
commodore Truxtun, ' I am sorry our two nations are at 
war ; but since I have unfortunately been vanquished, I 
felicitate myself and crew upon being prisoners to you : 
you have united all the qualities which characterize a 
man of honor, courage, and humanity. Receive from me 
the most sincere thanks ; and be assured, I shall make it 
a duty to publish to all my fellow-citizens the generous 
conduct which you have observed toward us.' 

*' Hearing that La Vengeance, a large French national 
ship, with fifty-four guns and upwards of five hundred 
men, including officers, was lying at Guadaloupe, he pro- 
ceeded, in January, 1800, off" that port. The ships came 
to action on the 1st of February, which lasted nearly five 
hours, when the French ship was completely silenced. 
But the mainmast of the Constellation going by the board, 
and a gale coming on, the French ship escaped in the 
night, and got into Curacao; having one hundred and 
sixty men killed and wounded, and nearly all her masts 
and rigging shot away. The Constellation lost fourteen 
men killed, and had twenty-five wounded. 

" For the signal gallantry displayed in this action, the 
congress of the United States voted ' that a gold medal be 
presented to commodore Truxtun.' This was his last 
cruise. Having, during the administration of Mr. Jeffer- 
son, been appointed to the command of the expedition 
against Tripoli, and being denied a captain to command 
his flag-ship, he declined the service ; which the president 
construing into a resignation of his rank, he was therefore 
dismissed. 



BIOGRAPHY— RUFUS KING. 401 

" He retired to the country, until the citizens of Phila- 
delphia, in 1816, elected him high-sheriff. He remained 
in that office till 1819, and died, May 5th, 1822, in his 
sixty-seventh year." 

Reading Lesson CLXXXIV. 
HON. RUFUS KING. 

" This eminent statesman and patriot, was the eldest 
son of Richard King, a merchant of Scarborough in 
Maine, where he was born, in 1755. He began his edu- 
cation at Byfield academy, in the town of Newbury, 
under the superintendence of the celebrated Mr. Samuel 
Moody. In 1773, he entered Harvard college, soon after 
which, he lost his father. In 1775, in consequence of the 
war, the studies of the college were suspended, and the 
students dispersed. They, however, assembled again in 
the fall, at Concord, under their former teacher, and con- 
tinued there till the British army evacuated Boston in 
1776, when Mr. King returned to Cambridge, and was 
graduated with great reputation as a classical scholar, and 
as an orator of extraordinary powers, in 1777. 

" He immediately commenced juridical studies, in the 
office of the late chief-justice Theophilus Parsons, at 
NewTauryport, and was admitted to the bar, in 1780. 
He had, however, in 1778, taken the field as a volunteer, 
and served under general Sullivan, to whom he was ap- 
pointed aid-de-camp, in his enterprise with count D'Es- 
taing, against the British in Rhode Island. 

" In the first cause in which he was engaged at the 
bar, he had for a competitor his legal preceptor. Parsons. 
He was soon afterwards elected a representative from 
Newburyport, to the legislature or general court of Mas- 
sachusetts, in which he manifested much ability, and urged 
the vesting of full authority in congress, to regulate the 
commerce of the country, and to impose such duties as 
might be necessary for that purpose. 

" In 1784, he was chosen a delegate to the ' old con- 
gress,' which assembled at Trenton, and subsequently 
adjoui'ned to New York. He never after resumed his 
practice at the bar. 

"On the 16th of March, 1785, he brought forward and 
advocated the passage of the resolution by which slavery 



402 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXXXV. 

was proliibited in the territory northwest of the Ohio, and 
became an active and leading member of that body which 
led, eventually, to the establishment of the present national 
government. 

"In 1787, he was appointed, by the legislature of Mas- 
sachusetts, a delegate to the general convention at Phila- j i 
delphia, which formed the present federal constitution. 

" In ] 788, Mr. King removed from Massachusetts to 
New York. In 1789, he was chosen by the citizens a 
representative to the state assembly; and, the same year, 
he and general Schuyler were elected the first senators 
from this state, under the constitution of the United States. 

"Mr. King, in 1794, published, in conjunction with his 
friend, Alexander Hamilton, a series of papers under the 
signature of Camillus, on the subject of the British treaty, 
which helped to reconcile the people to its various and 
highly important provisions. 

" ' At this time,' says Mr. Sullivan, ' Rufus King was 
about thirty-three years of age — and an uncommonly 
handsome man; he had a powerful mind, well cultivated, 
and was a dignified and graceful speaker. He had the 
appearance of one who was a gentleman by nature, and. 
who had well impi-oved all her gifts.' 

" After the expiration of his first term, he was reelected 
to the senate, and, in the spring of 1796, was appointed, 
by general Washington, minister plenipotentiary to Great 
Britain, and remained at the court of England, during the 
residue of the administration of Washington, the whole 
of that of the elder Adams, and for two years of that of 
Mr. Jefferson, when he returned home." 

Reading Lesson CLXXXV. 

Life of Rvfus King, continued. 

" While abroad, he lived on intimate terms with the 
most eminent statesmen and literary characters ; and, by 
the mild dignity of his manners, and his talents and capa- 
city for public business, he acquired and maintained a 
powerful personal influence, which he exerted to advance 
the interests of his country. In May, 1806, he removed 
with his family to his farm at Jamaica, Long Island, which 
he made his permanent residence. 

'• In 1813, he was again chosen by the legislature of 



BIOGRAPHY.— RUFUS KING. 403 

his state, a senator in congress ; and, although opposed 
o the declaration of war, in 1812, as in his opinion both 
mwise and impohtic, yet no man exhibited a higher de- 
cree of patriotism in supporting it, pledging his credit 
ind fortune to the government in its prgsecution, rather 
han it sliould yield any of the national rights to the ene- 
ny, or submit to an inglorious peace. 

" At this momentous crisis, which applied the touch- 
stone to the hearts of men, Mr. King was neither idle nor 
lismayed. His love of country dispelled his attachments 
;o party. In terms of the warmest solicitude, and in strains 
)f ihe most impassioned eloquence, he remonstrated with 
;he leaders of opposition, on the folly, the madness, and 
nischief of their course ; he contributed largely of his 
means, in loans to government, and used all his efforts to 
nfuse courage and perseverance in others. Having done 
ill in his power, to stimulate exertions at home, Mr. King 
•epaired to his post in congress, where he zealously sup- 
aorted the prominent measures of the administration, to 
sustain the country in the severe struggle in which she 
was engaged. 

" In 1816, he was nominated by the anti-administra- 
tion party, for governor of this state, which was done with- 
out his knowledge, and failed without his regret. 

" In 1820, he was again reelected to the senate, in 
which he continued, till the expiration of his term, in 
1825. During this period, in 1821, he was chosen a dele- 
[^ate, from this county, to the state convention for amending 
the constitution ; and was one of the most useful and in- 
telligent, as well as active members of that dignified and 
enlightened body. 

" Upon his retirement from the senate, in 1825, with 
the intention of closing his political career, he was soli- 
cited, by president John Quincy Adams, again to repre- 
sent the United States, at the court of St. James. But, on 
his passage, he was attacked by disease, which prevented 
him, on his arrival in England, entering upon an active 
discharge of the duties of his office. 

" After remaining abroad a year, in llie hope of being 
enabled, by returning health, to assume the high functions 
with which he was charged, he returned to the United 
States ; and here, in the bosom of his family, and with 
exemplary calmness and resignation, awaited his approach- 



404 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXXXVL 

ing enJ. This event took place on the 29th of April, 1827, 
at the age of seventy-two years. 

" In person, Mr. King was above the common size, , 
and somewhat athletic ; with a countenance manly, dig- 
nified, and bespeaking high intelligence. His manners 
were courteous, his disposition affable, and his conversa- 
tion and writings remarkable for conciseness and force. 

" Mr. King's manner, in the senate, was highly digni- 
fied, and in private life, that of a polished gentleman. 
His speeches, in manner and weight, gave him an ex- 
alted rank. Among his superior advantages, was an 
accurate knowledge of dates and facts, of most essential 
service in the senate. His two finest speeches are said 
to have been, on the burning of Washington by the Brit- 
ish, and on the exclusion of Mr. Gallatin from the senate, 
for the reason that he had not been a citizen of the United 
States long enough to entitle him to a seat there. 

" Mr. King was a public man, throughout his long and 
valuable life, with few and short intervals ; but, like all 
other men in the country, whose pride or pleasure de- 
pends on office, he was subjected to some disappoint- 
ments. Yet he may be considered as one of the most 
successful of the eminent men whose relations to the 
public endured so long." 

Reading Lesson CLXXXVI. 

ALEXANDER HAMILTON, 

" Was born in 1757, in the island of Nevis. His father 
was a native of England, and his mother of the island. 
At the age of sixteen, he became a student of Columbia 
college ; his mother having emigrated to New York. 

" He had not been in that institution more than a year, 
before he gave a brilliant manifestation of the powers of 
his mind, in the discussion concerning the rights of the 
colonies. In support of these, he published several essays, 
which were marked by such vigor and maturity of style, 
strength of argument, and wisdom and compass of views, 
that Mr. Jay, at that time in the meridian of life, was 
supposed, at first, to be the author. 

" When it had become necessary to unsheath the sword, 
the ardent spirit of young Hamilton would no longer 
allow him to remain in academic retirement ; and, before 



BIOGRAPHY.— ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 405 

the age of nineteen, he entered the American army, with 
the rank of captain of artillery. In this capacity, he soon 
attracted the attention of the commander-in-chief, who 
appointed him his aid-de-camp, with the rank of lieuten- 
ant-colonel. This occurred in 1777, when he was not 
more than twenty years of age. 

" From this time, he continued the inseparable com- 
panion of Washington, during the war, and was always 
consulted by him, and, frequently, by other eminent pub- 
lic functionaries, on the most important occasions. He 
acted as Washington's first aid-de-camp, at the battles of 
Brandywine, Gerraantown, and Monmouth ; and, at the 
siege of Yorktown, he led, at his own request, the detach- 
ment that carried by assault one of the enemy's outworks, 
October 14th, 1781. In this affair, he displayed the most 
brilliant valor. 

" After the war, colonel Hamilton, then about twenty- 
four, commenced the study of law ; as he had, at that 
time, a wife and family depending upon him for support. 
He was soon admitted to the bar. 

" In 1782, he was chosen a member of congress, from 
the state of New York, where he soon acquired the great- 
est influence and distinction, and was always a member, 
and sometimes chairman, of those committees to which 
were confided such subjects as were deemed of vital 
Interest to the nation. The reports which he prepared 
are remarkable for the correctness and power which char- 
acterize every effort of his pen. At the end of the session, 
be returned to the practice of his profession, in the city 
of New York, and became eminent at the bar. 

" In 1786, he was chosen a member of the legislature 
of his state, and was mainly instrumental in preventing 
1 serious collision between Vermont and New York, 
m consequence of a dispute concerning territorial juris- 
iiction. 

" He was elected a delegate of New York, to the con- 
tention which was to meet at Philadelphia, in order to 
'orm a constitution for the United States. As the doors 
)f the convention were closed during its sittings, and its 
•ecords have never been given to the world, it is not pos- 
sible to state the precise part which he acted in that body. 
[t is well ascertained, however, that the country is at least 
13 much indebted to him for the excellence of the con-' 



406 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXXXVIf. 

stitution, as to any other member of the ilhistrious assem- 
bly. Hamilton and Madison were its chief oracles and 
artificers. 

" After the adoption of the constitution, by the conven- 
tion, he associated himself with Mr. Madison and Mr. Jay, 
for the purpose of disposing the public to receive it with 
favor. The essays which they wrote with that design, 
addressed to the people of New York, during the years 
of 1787 and 1788, are well known under the name of the 
Federalist, and contributed powerfully to produce the 
effect for which they were composed. The larger por- 
tion of them was written by Hamilton. 

"In 1788, he was a member of the state convention of 
New York, which met to deliberate on the adoption of the 
federal constitution, and it was chiefly in consequence of 
his efforts that it was accepted. 

" On the organization of the federal government, in 
1789, he was appointed to the office of secretary of the 
treasury. This was a situation which required the exer- 
cise of all the great powers of his mind ; for the public 
credit was, at that time, in the lowest state of depression ; 
and, as no statistical account of the country had ever been 
attempted, its fiscal resources wei"e wholly unknown. But 
before Hamilton retired from the post, which he did after 
filling it during somewhat more than five years, he had 
raised the public credit to a height, altogether unprece- 
dented in the history of the country, and, by the admirable 
system of finance which he established, had acquired the 
reputation of one of the greatest financiers of the age. 
His official reports to congress are considered as master- 
pieces ; and the principles which he advocated in them, 
still continue to exercise a great influence in the revenue 
department of the general government." 

Rkading Lesson CLXXXVII. 

Life of Hamilton, continued. 

" Whilst secretary of the treasury, Hamilton was, ex 
officio, one of the cabinet counsellors of president Wash- 
ington ; and such was the confidence reposed by that 
great man, in his integrity and ability, that he rarely ven- 
tured upon any executive act of moment, without his 
concurrence. He was one of the principal advisers of 



BIOGRAPHY.-ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 40T 

the proclamation of neutrality, issued by Washington, in 
1793, in consequence of the attempt made by the ministet 
of France, to cause the United States to take part with 
his country, in the war then waging between it and Eng- 
land. This measure he defended in a series of essays, 
under the signature of Pacificus, which were successful 
ill giving it popularity. 

" In 1795, Hamilton resigned his office, and retired to 
private life, in order to be better able to support a nu- 
merous family, by the practice of his profession. In 1798, 
however, when an invasion was apprehended from the 
Fiench, and a provisional army had been called into the 
field, his public services were again required. President 
Adams had offered the chief command of the provisional 
army to Washington, who consented to accept it, on condi- 
tion that Hamilton should be chosen second in command, 
with the title of inspector-general. This was accordingly 
done; and, in a short time, he succeeded in bnnging the 
organization and discipline of the army to a high degree 
of excellence. On the death of Washington, in 1799, he 
succeeded, of course, to the chief command. 

" When the army was disbanded, after the cessation of 
hostilities between the United States and France, general 
Hamilton returned again to the bar, and continued to 
practise, with increased reputation and success, until 1804. 

" In June of that year, he received a note from colonel 
Burr, — between whom and himself a political had become 
a personal enmity, — in which he was required, in offensive 
language, to acknowledge or disavow certain expressions 
derogatory to the latter. The tone of the note was such 
as to cause him to refuse to do either; and a challenge 
was the consequence. The parties met at Hoboken, July 
11th; and, on the first fire, Hamilton fell, mortally wound- 
ed, on the same spot where, a short time previously, his 
eldest son had been killed in a duel. He lingered until 
the afternoon of the following day, when he expired. 
1 "The sensation which this occurrence produced through- 
j out the United States, had never been exceeded on this 
continent. Men of all political parties felt that the nation 
w^as deprived of its greatest ornament. His transcendent 
abilities were universally acknowledged ; every citizen felt 
the fullest confidence in his spirit of honor, and his ca- 
j pacity for public service. 



408 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXXXVIII. 

" Of all the coadjutors and advisers of Washington, 
Hamilton was, doubtless, the one in whose judgment and 
sagacity he reposed the greatest confidence, whether in 
the military or civil career ; and, of all American states- 
men of his day, he displayed the most comprehensive un- 
derstanding and the most varied ability, whether applied 
to subjects practical or speculative. 

" His style is nervous, lucid and animated ; he excels 
in reasoning, founded on general principles and histoi'ical 
experience." 

Keading Lesson CLXXXVIII. 

GENERAL JOHN ARMSTRONG, 

" Was born at Carlisle, in Pennsylvania,* in the year 1758. 
He was the youngest of two sons. His brother, the late 
Dr. James Armstrong, was a man of unblemished charac- 
ter, and of considerable eminence in his profession. His 
father, general John Armstrong, of Carlisle, served with 
distinction in the French and Indian war of 1755. 

" At or about the commencement of the war of the 
revolution, the subject of the present notice joined the 
American army, as a volunteer, when only eighteen years 
of age, contrary to the wishes of his parents, who were 
anxious that he should continue, for a time longer, to 
prosecute his studies. 

" We find him at the battle of Princeton, in the capaci- 
ty of an aid-de-camp to general Mercer; and it was in his 
arms, that the latter, when mortally wounded, was carried 
from the field. Accident subsequently made him acquaint- 
ed with general Gates, who, pleased with his manners and 
conversation, asked him to dinner, and, before the party 
broke up, invited him to become a member of his military 
family, — an invitation which was promptly accepted. In 
this situation, and with the rank of major, he continued to 
serve until the close of the war. 

" When, on the occurrence of this auspicious event, — 
auspicious as connected with the permanent establishment 
of American independence, — and before the disbanding 
of the army, a high degree of dissatisfaction was felt by 
both officers and men, on account of the neglect of con- 
gress to provide for the payment of the arrears due to 

* His life, however, was chiefly spent in the state of New York. 



BIOGRAPHY.-GEX. ARMSTRONG. 409 

them, major Armstrong, at the suggestion of several of 
the officers of high rank, prepared the celebrated anony- 
mous addresses, commonly known by the name of the 
Newburg addresses." Of these mention was made, it will 
be recollected, in the historical part of this volume. 

" Armstrong's conduct on this occasion, though sanc- 
tioned, at the time, by so many of his brother officers, 
whose love of liberty and country has never been doubted, 
subjected him, in after life, to no small degree of obloquy. 
But, in justice to his character, it is proper to state here, 
that the knowledge of his being the author o£ the anony- 
mous addresses, did not impair the confidence that general 
Washington reposed in his integrity and patriotism. 

" ' Whatevei' may have been thought by general Wash- 
ington, at the time,' says Mr. Sparks, ' as to the character 
and objects of the Newburg addresses, it appears, by the 
following letter, that he was afterwards led to form a dif- 
ferent opinion of the motives of the author from that ex- 
pressed in his address to the officers.' 

'• In the letter referred to, general Washington, address- 
ing himself to general Armstrong, says, ' Believing that 
there may be times and occasions, on which my opinion 
of the anonymous letters and their author, as delivered to 
the army in the year 1783, may be turned to some per- 
sonal and malignant purpose, 1 do hereby declare, that I 
did not, at the time of writing my address, regard you as 
the author of the said letters ; and farther, that I have since 
had sufficient reason for believing that the object of the 
author was just, honorable, and friendly to the country, 
though the means suggested were certainly liable to much 
misunderstanding and abuse.' " 

Reading Lesson CLXXXIX. 
Life of general Armstrong, continued. 

" The first civil appointment held by general Armstrong, 
was that of secretary of the state of Pennsylvania, during 
Franklin's administration of its government; and, soon 
afterwards, he became a member of the • old congress.' 

" In 17S9, having married a sister of the late chancellor 
Livingston, he was led to establish himself on the banks 
of the Hudson river, in the county of Dutchess, and state 
of New York. 

S 



410 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CLXXXIX. 

"In Novembei-, 1800, lie was elected a United-States 
senator, Vjy an almost unanimous vote of both houses of 
the New-York legislature ; and, in 1804, before his sena- 
torial term had expired, he received, from Mr. Jefferson, 
the appointment of minister to Fiance. He discharged 
the complicated and highly responsible duties of this mis- 
sion with distinguished ability, and in a manner highly 
honorable to the country which he represented, and cred- 
itable to himself. 

" During his residence abroad, it may be mentioned 
that he also performed all the functions of a separate 
mission to Spain ; for which service he neither received 
nor claimed any remuneration from the government. 

" His mission to France terminated, at his own request, 
in the autumn of 1810 ; repose being necessary to his 
health, and his private affairs, long neglected, requiring 
his supervision at home. 

" Soon after the declaration of war by the United States 
against Great Britain, in 1812, he was appointed a briga- 
dier-general in the United States army, and assigned to 
the command of the district embracing the city and harbor 
of New York ; and, in February of the following year, he 
succeeded Dr. Eustis as secretary of war. This office he 
accepted with the greatest reluctance, having no confi- 
dence in the fitness of the generals wliom the president, 
Mr. Madison, had appointed to the chief command of the 
American forces, and expecting only defeat and disaster, 
until they should be superseded by younger, and more 
active, as well as more able men. They had, it is true, 
seen and done some service in the war of the revolution, 
but only in subordinate capacities ; and, becoming ener- 
vated by a repose of thirty years, they had, accoiding to 
general Armstrong, * lost all ambitious aspirations, while 
they had forgotten all they ever knew, and were ignorant 
of the later improvements in military science.' 

"In this condition of things, the new secretary of war 
adopted the step, with difficulty acquiesced in by Mr. 
Madison, of transferring his department of the govern-' 
ment from Washington to Sackett's harbor, that he might 
be near the scene of the operations to be directed, from 
the state of New York, against Canada. 

" But eveq his presence was unable to counteract the 
evils resulting from the mistaken appointments which had 



BIOGRAPHY.-GEN. ARMSTRONG. 411 

been made. The generals in command were not deterred 
from setting aside his instructions as to the plan ofthe 
campaign (of 1813 ;) and, superadding to their other dis- 
qualifications that of quarrelHng among themselves, the 
result ofthe efforts made for the conquest of Canada, was 
precisely such as general Armstrong, before going into 
office, had predicted as likely, under the circumstances, to 
ensue." 

Reading Lesson CXC. 

Life of general Armstrong, continued. 

" The capture of Washington, in August, 1814, led to 
general Armstrong's retirement from the war-office, an act 
which terminated his political career. That no especial 
blame could be attached to him, for this untoward event, 
must be manifest, when we are told that the individual, — 
general Winder, — who was placed at the head of the 
forces which had been assembled for the defence of the 
district of Columbia, and who commanded against the 
enemy in the action at Bladensburg, had been appointed 
by the president to this post, ' against the advice of the 
secretary,' as also that the latter had, under a decision of 
the president, been constrained * to leave the military 
functionaries to a discharge of their own duties, on their 
own responsibility.' 

" Public opinion, however, without any minute inquiry 
into the causes ofthe disaster which had happened, veiy 
naturally, perhaps, fixed upon the head of the war depart- 
\ ment ofthe administration, as a principal object of blame. 
Mr. Madison, though aware ofthe injustice ofthe clamor 
raised against the secretary, and in nowise disposed to 
take any step of a nature calculated to affect the reputa- 
tion of this officer injuriously, was induced, from motives 
of precaution, to yield to it, to a certain extent. He inti- 
mated to general Armstrong, that a brief visit to his family 
would give time for the ebullition of passion and preju- 
dice to subside, when he would be able to return, and 
resume the functions of his office, under more favorable 
circumstances. But the general regarded this intimation 
as itself an act of injustice, and felt indignant at its having 
been given. Determining to exercise his functions wholly 
or not at all, he sent in his resignation, which the presi- 
dent accepted. 



412 NEW- YORK CLASS COOK.— LESSOxV CXCI. 

"In his retirement, general Armstrong's pen was em- 
ployed on vai'ious subjects connected with the public 
good, or belonging to the history of his own times. Among 
the fruits of his literary labors, we have a treatise upon 
gardening, and another upon agriculture, that are held in 
high esteem ; a review of general Wilkinson's memoirs, 
in which he handles the author with great severity ; sev- 
eral biographical notices, and a history, in two volumes, 
of the last war. It was his intention to leave .behind him 
a history of the war of the revolution, a work in which he 
had made some progress; and which, had he been per- 
mitted to finish it, would, there is no doubt, have been 
invested with no ordinary interest, from the fact of his 
personal knowledge of the distinguished men, and most 
of the important events, of that period. 

" Towards the latter part of the year 1842, he fell into 
a decline ; and, gradually wasting away, he breathed his 
last, in the full possession of his mental faculties, and in the 
eighty-fifth year of his age, on the 1st day of April, 1843." 

Reading Lesson CXCI. 

COLOxNEL AARON BURR, • 

" Was born on the 6th of February, 1756, at Newark, in 
New Jersey.* His father, the Rev. Aaron Burr, was the 
first president of the college of New Jersey, which was 
opened at Newark, but was subsequently removed to 
Princeton ; hjs mother was the daughter of the Rev. Jon- 
athan Edwards, so distinguished as a metaphysician and 
divine, and who succeeded his son-in-law in the presiden- 
cy of the college. The former died in 1757, and the lat- 
ter in the following year, leaving only two children, Aaron 
and a daughter, afterwards the wife of judge Tappan 
Reeve, of Connecticut, 

" Colonel Burr inherited from his father a considerable 
property. He was graduated at Princeton, when he was 
only sixteen years old. When in his twentieth year, he 
joined the American army, after the battle of Bunkerhill, 
in the neighborhood of Boston. Here he volunteered to 
accompany general Arnold, in the expedition against 
Quebec. 

* The principal part of Mr. Burr's life was connected with scenes 
and events in the state of New York. 



I 



BIOGRAPHT.-COL. BURR. 413 

" This officer led the detachment under his command 
into Canada, by way of the Kennebec, and through the 
wilderness between the St. Lawrence and the settlements 
in the region now constituting the state of Maine. 

" On his arrival at Chaudiere pond. Burr was sent with 
a communication to general Montgomery, who was advan- 
cing from the state of New York with the forces under his 
immediate orders ; and who was so much pleased with the 
young messenger as to appoint him to be one of his aid- 
de-camps. In this capacity, Burr was present at the bat- 
tle of Quebec, and nQ0.r the person of the general, when 
he was killed. 

" On his return from Canada, in May, 1776, Burr pro- 
ceeded to the city of New York, on being ' notified verb- 
ally that it would be agieeable to the commander-in-chief 
that he should do so. But it would seem that colonel, then 
already major. Burr, for some reason or other, failed to 
make a favorable impression, personally, on general 
Washington. He, in consequence, became, in his turn, 
dissatisfied, and even inclined to quit the service ; when, 
through the instrumentality of governor Hancock, he ob- 
tained the appointment of aid-de-camp to general Put- 
nam, — an appointment which he gladly accepted. 

" In July, 1777, he was promoted to the rank of a 
lieutenant-colonel ; but was obliged, in March, 1779, to 
resign his commission in the army, on account of the im- 
paired state of his health. He had, on various occasions 
during the war, highly distinguished himself by his brave- 
ry, vigilance, and skill, and had been repeatedly selected 
by Washington to execute his commands, on important 
emergencies, although that great man and admirable 
judge of character, had formed but a low estimate of his 
principles and morals. 

" On retiring from the army, and, after an interval of 
repose required for the restoration of his health, colonel 
Burr applied himself to the study of the law, as well to 
provide himself with an adequate field for distinction 
among his countrymen, in his future life, as to repair the 
pecuniary losses which he had incurred during the period 
of his military service, by the liberality and extravagance 
of his expenditure. He commenced the practice of his 
profession at Albany, in the month of April, 1782, and 
married in July, following. 



414 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXCII. 

" As soon as the British troops had evacuated the city 
of New York, at the conclusion of the war, in November, 
1783, he removed thither, where he speedily acquired an 
extensive and lucrative practice. 

" He was a member of the legislature, during the ses- 
sions of 1784 and 1785; but, as that body met in the city 
where he resided, and as he took part in its deliberations 
only on a few of the most important questions which came 
before it for its decision, his professional vocation scarce- 
ly suffered any interruption ; and it was only after the 
existing constitution of the Unioji went into operation, 
that he became prominent as a party politician." 



Reading Lesson CXCII. 
Life of colonel Burr, continued. 

" In 1789, Mr. Burr was appointed attorney-general of 
the state. In January, 1791, he was elected a senator of 
the United States ; and he took his seat in that body, in 
the autumn of that year. 

" He was appointed in October, 1792, a judge of the 
supreme court of the state of New York, but declined the 
appointment ; preferring to hold his position in the United 
States senate, as one of the most prominent leaders of 
the pai'ty, (the democratic,) to which he belonged. 

" At the presidential election which took place in the 
autumn of 1800, an equal number of votes was found to 
have been given for the two highest candidates on the list, 
Mr. Jefferson and colonel Burr ; and it, in consequence, 
devolved on the members of the house of representatives, 
voting by states, to decide which of these gentlemen should 
hold the office of president, and which of them, that of vice- 
president. 

" Notwithstanding that, prior to the choice of electors, 
Mr. Jefferson was alone intended, by the party that nomi- 
nated him, as their candidate for the presidency, it was not 
until after thirty-six ballotings that the contest was decid- 
ed in his favor. 

" From this time forth, — as, from the circumstances of 
the case, might naturally have been expected, — colonel 
Burr lost the confidence of the majority of his foiTner 
political friends ; and the attempts which he made to in- 



BIOGRAPHY.— COL. BURR. 415 

gratiate himself with those to whom he had been hereto- 
fore opposed, were only partially successful. 

" In 1804, he was a candidate for the office of governor 
of New York, but failed of being elected. He was sup- 
ported by a portion of both the political parties ; by a 
minority of the democrats, and a majority of the federalists. 

•' Of the latter party, general Hamilton had been one 
of those who most earnestly opposed him ; and a duel 
took place, on the 11th of July, between these distin- 
guished men, growing out of their rivalship and ad%'erse 
relation to each other. Burr was the challenger, con- 
ceiving himself to have been injuriously spoken of at the 
period of the preceding election, by Hamilton. The lat- 
ter was mortally wounded in the encounter; and his death 
was universally deplored, as a national loss. 

" Colonel Burr continued at his post in the senate of 
the United States, till within two days of the expiration 
of his term of service as vice-president. 

" It was not very long afterwards that he formed the 
scheme of his singular, and even yet not satisfactorily ex- 
plained, western expedition, ostensibly designed for an 
insurrectionary movement in Mexico, but which led to 
his arrest and trial at Richmond, in Virginia, in August 
and September, 1807, for treason, first, and, then, for a 
misdemeanor. He was acquitted, however, on both these 
charges, 

" In June, 1808, he embarked from New York for 
England ; induced to take this step, in a certain degree, 
by the personal and political prejudices that had been 
excited against him, by the death of Hamilton, and by the 
equivocal course he bad pursued in the western country ; 
but, in a degree, also, by an expectation of being able to 
obtain encouragement and assistance from some of the 
European governments, for attempting the emancipation 
of the Spanish American colonies from the oppi'essive 
domination of the mother country, — a project which he 
had long contemplated. 

" His efforts in this respect, were, however, entirely un- 
successful ; and he returned to the United States, in June, 
1812, after an absence abroad of four years. He opened 
an office in the city of New York, and practised law 
there, but without attracting the attention of the public, to 
any considerable extent. 



416 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXCIII. 

" In 1816, general Toledo, then in the city of New 
rk, and whose object in viaiting the United Slates was 
•not only to obtain the means of continuing the war, (of 
Mexico against Spain,) but to seek the person best capa- 
ble of employing them,' invited him to ' assume the man- 
agement' of the ' political and military affairs' of the 
Mexican republi:. 

"Colonel Burr declined this invitation. But, in 1819, 
he received a commission from the government of Vene- 
zuela, authorizing him to raise troops for the sea and land 
service of that republic, and pledging itself to pay all 
debts, of his contracting, in the exercise of the authority 
granted him. 

"Colonel Burr died o!) the 14th of September, 1836, 
in the eighty-first year of his age, on Staten island, where 
he had passed the summer, for the benefit of pure air. 
Agreeably to his own request, his body waa conveyed to 
Princeton, to be there buried." 

Reading Lksson CXCIII. 

BROCKHOLST LIVINGSTON, 

"Judge of the supreme court of the United States, was 
the son of William Livingston, governor of New Jersey, 
and was born in the city of New York, November 25th, 
1757. He entered Princeton college, but, in 1776, left it 
for the field, and became one of the family of general 
Schuyler, commander of the northern army. He was 
afterwards attached to the suite of general Arnold, with 
the rank of major, and shared in the honor of the conquest 
of Burgoyne. 

" In 1779, he accompanied Mr. Jay to the court of 
Spain, as his private seci-etary, and remained abroad 
about three years. On his return, he devoted himself to 
law, and was admitted to practise in April, 1783. 

"His talents were happily adapted to the pi-ofession, 
and soon raised him into notice, and, ultimately, to emi- 
nence. He was called to the bench of the supreme court 
of the state of New York, January 8th,«1802, and, in No- 
vember, 1806, was transferred to that of the supreme 
court of the United States; theduties of which station he 
discharged with distinguished faithfulness and ability, un- 
til his death, which took place during the sittings of the 



BIOGRAPHY.— DR. MACNEVEN, 417 

court at Washington, March 18th, 1823, in the sixty-sixth 
year of his age. 

" He possessed a mind of uncommon acuteness and 
energy, and enjoyed the reputation of an accomplished 
scholar, and an able pleader and jurist, an upright judge, 
aud a liberal patron of learning." 

Reading Lesson CXCIV. 

WILLIAM JAMES MACNEVEN, M.D., 

" Was born at Ballynahowne, in the county of Galway, in 
Ireland, on the 21st of March, 1763. When ten or tweh'e 
years of age, he was sent for by an uncle, to be educated 
in Germany ; — a custom very general in the catholic fam- 
ilies of the country, and rendered necessary, at that time, 
by the operation uf the penal laws. He received an ex- 
cellent classical education in the college at Prague, and 
then studied medicine there, and afteiwards at Vienna, 
where he was graduated, in 1783. 

" In the following year, he commenced the practice of 
his profession in Dublin. He was soon enabled, by his 
practice, to live with comfort and independence ; and a 
prosperous career seemed to be opened before him. 

" Of an ardent temperament, and an enthusiastic lover 
of his country. Dr. Macneven could scarcely avoid taking 
a deep interest in the political discussions and contentions 
of the period, A speech which he made, in December, 
1791, before the 'Catholic Committee' in Dublin, on the 
subject of a remonstrance to be offered to the government, 
— which he opposed as too submissive in its tone, — 
brought him into general notice, as an efficient advocate 
of liberal and patriotic principles. 

" In the following year, 1792, he represented the town 
of Navan in a general convention of the catholics of Ire- 
land ; and in this body originated the measure, — an 
amendment to a petition to the king, — which obtained the 
elective franchise for the forty shilling freeholders. He 
also became a member of the secret society of United 
Irishmen, and a prominent leader in the great object of 
the political emancipation of his countrymen. In the 
meantime, he continued the practice of his profession, 
and mingled in society as usual, until the attention of the 
British government was, at length, directed to him, as one 



418 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXCIV. 

of the individuals most actively engaged in the scheme for 
entirely shaking off' the dominion of England, and for call- 
ing in a French force, to assist in the accomplishment of 
this design. 

" He was, accordingly, arrested at Dublin, in March, 
1798, and imprisoned with his friend, Mr. Thomas Addis 
Emmet, and others, for a year, in Kilmainham gaol, and 
three years more, at fort George, in Scotland. 

" On their liberation. Dr. Macneven passed the summer 
and autumn of 1802, in ti'avelling through Switzerland on 
foot, of which journey he published an account under the 
title of ' A Ramble in Switzerland.' He also visited his 
relations in Germany; and, in 1803, went to Paris. 

" In that or the following year, he entered the French 
army as a captain in the Irish brigade ; but, disappointed 
in the hopes which he had been induced to entertain of 
being employed in an expedition to Ireland, he resigned 
his commission, and set sail from Bordeaux for New York, 
where he arrived on the 4th of July, 1805. 

" Dr. Macneven lost no time in declaring his intention 
of becoming a citizen of the United States ; and, fixing 
upon the city of New York as his permanent residence, 
he entered immediately on the practice of his profession, 
in which he was so successful as speedily to assure him- 
self an easy competence. 

"In 1808, he was appointed to a professor's chair, in 
the college of physicians and surgeons; in 1811, he ex- 
changed this appointment for that of another department; 
in 1812, he was appointed to the office of ' resident phy- 
sician' by governor Clinton; and, in 1816, the depart- 
ment of ' materia medica' was added to his chair, which 
arrangement continued until 1820, when the branches 
that he taught were again separated. 

" In 1826, he resigned his professorship in the college 
of physicians, and united with Drs. Hosack, Francis, Mott, 
and Godman, in another medical school; the chair of 'ma- 
teria medica' being assigned to him. This school had 
been established under the auspices of Rutgers college, 
in New Jersey ; and, after having been in successful 
operation during four years, it was compelled, by the 
enactments of the New- York legislature, to close its 
doors. Dr. Macneven thenceforth ceased to be a public 
teacher. 



BIOGRAPHY.— DR. S. L. MITCHILL. 419 

" During the cholera, in the year 1832, he was one of 
the meJical council charged with the supervision of the 
hospitals, and other establishments for the use of the sick. 
And he, a second time, held the office of resident physician, 
in 1840-41. 

" Besides the ' Rambles in Switzerland,' already men- 
tioned, Dr. Macneven published an ' Exposition of the 
Atomic Theory,' originally propounded by Higgins and 
Dalton, and an edition of Brande's Chemistry, too:ether 
with some papers on medical subjects, inserted in the 
New- York Medical and Philosophical Journal, and one 
on the mineral waters of Schooley's mountain, in the 
Transactions of the New- York literary and philosophical 
society. 

" Dr. Macneven had a peculiar aptitude for acquiring 
languages. ' As a classical scholar,' we are told by one 
of his biographers, ' his claims were unquestioned. He 
spoke German and French with the same facility as En- 
glish ; and in the Italian, unlocked with delight the treas- 
ures of Dante and Ariosto. His native tongue, the Erse, 
was the first he had learned; and through life, he con- 
versed in it, with fluency.' 

" Another characterizes him thus : — * As a lecturer, he 
was simple, clear, and animated; as a practitioner, judir 
cious, and efficient ; as a man, amiable, honest, and kind- 
hearted ; as a patriot, ardent, active, bold, and disinter- 
ested.' 

" Dr. Macneven died on the 12th of July, 1841, in the 
seventy-ninth year of his age." 



Reading Lesson CXCV. 

DR. SAMUEL L. MITCHILL, 

" An eminent naturalist, was bom at Plandome, August 
20th, 1764. His father and mother were in good standing 
with the society of Friends, and brought up their children 
in the habits and strict morality of that sect. 

" Dr. Mitchill was, in his early life, particularly assisted 
and patronized by his uncle, Dr. Latham, who was a skil- 
ful and intelligent medical practitioner, in his native plac^. 
The resources of this gentleman happily enabled him to 
enter upon and complete that system of education which 



420 NEW-YORK CliASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXCV. 

the limited income of his father, of necessity, denied. Of 
his uncle, he always spoke with becoming gratitude and 
ardent affection. 

" At an early age, he was placed under the direction 
of the Rev. Leonard Cutting, the minister of Hempstead, 
and a graduate of the university of Oxford. With this 
excellent instructor he continued for several years, and 
acquired an intimate acquaintance with classical literature, 
which constituted one of the favorite amusements of his 
leisui'e hours, through life. It is due to this kind precep- 
tor to state, that he early predicted the future eminence 
of his pupil, and contributed by his praise and encourage- 
ment to its fulfilment. While at Hempstead, he obtained 
a partial knowledge of the French language, from Mr. 
John H. Hertzy, which he farther perfected, on his sub- 
sequent visit to France. 

" After acquiring some of the elementary principles of 
medicine, with Dr. Latham, he became, in 1780, a pupil 
of Dr. Samuel Bard of New York, with whom he con- 
tinued about three years. Dr. Latham died in 1781 ; 
after which young Mitchill had little farther opportunity 
for education. 

"In 1784, he went to Europe, and was at the medical 
Bchool of Edinburgh, then adorned by the talents of Cul- 
len. Black, and Monro. He there had, for his friends and 
compeers, the late Thomas Addis Emmet and Sir James 
Mackintosh; and we have the testimony of the former 
that no student of the university exhibited greater tokens 
of promise. On the death of this gentleman, at New 
York, in 1828, Dr. Mitchill performed the melancholy 
duty of pT'onouncing his eulogium. 

" Dr. Mitchill, on his return from Europe, in 1786, de- 
voted a portion of liis time to acquire a knowledge of the 
laws and constitution of his country, under the direction 
of Robert Yates of Albany, at that time chief-justice of 
the state of New York. By the influence of this gentle- 
man, he was employed on the commission for holding a 
treaty with the Iroquois Indians, and was present at the 
adjustment made at fort Stanwix, 1788, by which the right 
to a large portion of the western district, became the prop 
erty of the state. 

" In 1790, he was chosen a member of the legislature 
fi'ona Queens county, and, in 179'^, was appointed profea- 



BIOGRAPHY.-EDWARD LIVINGSTON. 421 

sor of natural history, chemistry, and agricu-lture, in Co- 
lumbia college. 

" At this institution he first made known to his country- 
men the new theory of chemistry, recently matured by the 
genius of Lavoisier and his associates, in opposition to the 
theory of his former master. Dr. Black. In 1796, he made 
his able mineralogical report of a survey of the state of 
New Yoi'k ; and, in 1797, commenced, in connection 
with Drs. Miller and Smith, the publication of the Medi- 
cal Repository, of which he was chief editor, for more 
than sixteen years. 

" He was a member of numerous scientific institutions. 
Of the lyceum of natural history of New York he was the 
founder, and, for many years, president. He enriched its 
annals with many contributions, and still farther displayed 
his zeal and liberality by a donation of a large portion of 
his valuable cabinet. For about twenty years, he acted 
as one of the physicians of the New-York hospital. 

" Notwithstanding his immense literary labors, and pub- 
lications on almost every subject of science, he found time 
to mingle in the bustle of politics. He was elected, from 
the city of New York, a member of the seventh, eighth, 
and ninth congresses ; and, afterwards, a state senator of 
the United States. 

" Few men ever enjoyed a more enviable popularity, 
or preserved a more voluminous correspondence in every 
part of the world. In private life, he was distinguished 
for affability and simplicity of manners, and was always 
ready to impart to others of his immense stores of knowl- 
edge, which probably exceeded, in value and amount, 
those of any man living. The illustrious Cuvier always 
mentioned him in terms of great approbation ; and Audu- 
bon, the ornithologist, has bestowed upon him the ti'ibute 
of his sincere applause. He died, after a short but severe 
illness, at his residence, in the city of New York, in the 
sixty-seventh year of his age, September 7th, 1831." 

Reading Lesson CXCVI. 

EDWARD LIVINGSTON, 

" Was born in the year 1764, at Clermont, (Livingston's 
manor,) in Columbia county, in the state of New York.- 
He was a younger brother of Mr. Robert R. Livingston, 



422 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CXCVI. 

of whom a notice was given in a previous page of this 
work. " He went to school at Albany, and then at Esopus 
or Kingston, on the Hudson river. In 1779, he entered 
an advanced class of Princeton college, where he took 
his degree of A.B., two years afterwards. 

" Having selected the law for a profession, he pursued 
the study of it at Albany, and, upon being admitted to the 
bar, in 1785, established himself in the city of New York. 
There, before he reached the age of thirty, he had acquired 
a high reputation for his attainments as a jurist, and ability 
as an advocate. 

" Mr. Livingston was, in 1794, elected a representative 
in congress, frorti the city of New York and some of the 
neighboring counties. During the six years that he was 
a member of that body, he was one of the leaders of the 
party opposed to the administration of the general gov- 
ernment. His opposition, however, was devoid of asper- 
ity, and was far from being indiscriminate in its character, 

" Nor was his attention, by any means, confined to the 
political questions by which the community was, at that 
time, agitated. To him were owing the first, though in- 
effectual, attempts to mitigate the severity of our criminal 
laws, and to adapt the punishments inflicted, more justly 
than had before been done, to the nature of the oflence 
which was committed. He urged the passage, also, of 
several laws to protect or relieve American seamen, left 
by accident or misfortune, on foreign shores. And he 
gave his earnest support to the measures for the gradual 
increase of the navy. 

" Shortly after retiring from congress, he was appointed 
by the president, Mr. Jefferson, to the office of attorney of 
the United States, for the state of New York ; and, about 
the same time, he was elected mayor of the city of New 
York, an office which, as then constituted, required the 
exercise of important judicial functions, in addition to the 
duties ordinarily performed by the first municipal magis- 
trate of a large city. 

" In 1803, during his mayoralty, the city experienced a!i 
attack of the yellow fever, when 'his personal exertions and 
benevolence were fearlessly displayed, at the risk, and al- 
most with the loss, of his own life.' In the meantime, his 
private affairs having been completely neglected, in con- 
sequence of his assiduous attention to those of the public,; 



BIOGRAPHY.— EDWARD LIVINGSTON. 423 

they became greatly deranged ; and, through the miscon- 
duct of persons who had been entrusted by him with the 
collection of debts due to the United States, he was sub- 
jected to heavy liabilities. He at once resigned his offices, 
and by a removal to Louisiana, — which had just been pur- 
chased from France, — sought a rich field, where, by his 
professional labors, he could hope to obtain the means of 
relieving himself from his pecuniary embarrassments. 
Nor was he disappointed ; for he was ultimately enabled 
to discharge the obligations which he had incurred, both 
principal and interest. 

"Shortly after his arrival in Louisiana, the legislature 
of that territory entrusted to him, in conjunction with the 
late Mr. James Brown, the preparation of a system of 
judicial procedure. Discarding the fictions and tech- 
nicalities of the English law, and avoiding also the pro- 
lixity of the Spanish, and not unfrequently of the French 
code, they produced a simple and intelligible system, and 
one well calculated to prevent unnecessary delay and ex- 
pense. It was adopted by the legislature, as well through 
the ability displayed by its framers in its support,_^as on ac- 
count of its own intrinsic merits ; in despite of the resistance 
which it met with from the members of the bar, generally, 
who had removed to Louisiana from the other slates of 
the American Union. 

" But this was merely an introductory step to other still 
more important labors of a similar character. In 1820, 
he was appointed, jointly with Messrs. Derbigny and Mo- 
reau, to revise the system of civil or municipal law, a com- 
pound of French, Spanish, and American or English juris- 
prudence, hitherto in use in the state of Louisiana ; and, 
in 1821, he was charged, solely, with the preparation of a 
new system of penal law." 

Reading Lesson CXCVII. 

Life of Edward Livingston, continued. 

" The new civil code was presented to the legislature 
in 1823, and, with the exception of the commercial part, 
to which objections were made, was promptly adopted by 
it. Mr. Livingston made, in 1822, a preliminary report 
on the principles and plan on which he proposed to frame 
the new criminal code, with specimens of the mode of its 



424 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXCVII. 

execution. This report was soon afterwards reprinted in 
London ; and a French translation of it, was published at 
Paris, in 1825. The system of penal law, in the form in 
which we now have it, was submitted to the legislature in 
the year 1826. It is not, properly speaking, a single code, 
but consists of 'a code of crimes and punishments, a code 
of ciiminal procedure, a code of evidence, a code of reform 
and prison discipline, and a book of definitions, together 
with introductory reports to each of the codes, pointing 
out the changes made in the existing laws, the new enact- 
ments proposed, and the principles and reasons on which 
they were founded.' These were all published together, at 
Philadelphia, in one large octavo volume, in the year 1833. 

" ' The system,' Mr. Gilpin tells us, in his biographical 
notice of Mr. Livingston, — read before the American Pliil- 
osophical Society, and inserted in the third volume of the 
American Law Magazine, — ' has not, it is believed, been 
yet finally acted upon, in its extended form, by the legis- 
lature of Louisiana; but it does not, on this account, claim 
less justly the admiration of the philanthropist and jurist. 
It is a wprk worthy of the deep consideration of all com- 
munities. The beauty of its arrangement, the wisdom of 
its provisions, and the simplicity of its forms, have never 
been surpassed, probably never equalled, in any similar 
work ; and it is not without entire justice, that this admi- 
rable production has contributed, perhaps more than any 
other of his labors, to secure to Mr. Livingston that emi- 
nent place which he holds among those who are regarded, 
not merely as distinguished jurists, but as public bene- 
factors.' 

" For a period of twenty years, Mr. Livingston had 
taken no part in public affairs, excepting in so far as they 
were connected with the theory or practice of his profes- 
sion, and excepting, too, the part which he acted in the 
defence of New Orleans, in the capacity of an aid-de- 
camp of general Jackson. 

" At length, in 1823, on his signifying his intention to 
retire from the bar, he was elected a representative in 
congress from the state of Louisiana; in 1829, he was 
transferred to a seat in the senate of the L^nited States ; 
and, in 1831, he was appointed, by general Jackson, to the 
office of secretary of state, then vacant by the resignation 
of Mr. Van Buren. 



BIOGRAPHY.— EDWARD LIVINGSTON. 425 

"During his service in congress, from 1823 to 1831, 
Mr. Livingston did not speak often, and only on impor- 
tant questions of general policy. He was always listened 
to with marked attention and respect, and distinguished 
himself especially in the celebrated debate in the senate, 
on Mr. Foote's resolution relative to the public lands. 

" As the head of the department of state, his corre- 
spondence, and other documents of which he was the 
author, will compare, without disparagement, with those 
that have proceeded from the other eminent men who, 
since the organization of the government, have occupied 
the same position, and exhibit, throughout, a most enlight- 
ened and libeial spirit, in reference to the foreign rela- 
tions of the country. 

"In the summer of 1833, the president selected Mr. 
Livingston to fill the post of American minister to France ; 
it being, at the time, one of unusual importance, on ac- 
count of the difficulties which had sprung out of the 
refusal by the French Chambers, to make provision for 
the payment of the indemnity due to the United States, 
for injuries committed against their commerce, during 
the last European war. 

" Mr. Livingston conducted his mission under trying 
circumstances, in a manner redounding very much to his 
own credit, as well as to the honor of the country which 
he represented. 

"On his return to America, in the spring of 183.5, he 
retired to his seat at Rhinebeck, on the Hudson river, 
in the midst of his numerous family connections. He 
died there, on the 23d of May, 1836. 

" Eminent as he was, as a statesman, and as a member 
of the American bar, it is, however, as a theoretical jurist 
that Mr. Livingston is most extensively known ; and upon 
his merits as such, his reputation will chiefly rest, and 
long endure. These merits were acknowledged in lettei-s 
to him, and otherwise, by some of the most distinguished 
of his contemporaries abroad, as well as at home ; and 
they procured for him, among other honoi"s of a similar 
nature, that of being chosen to be one of the foreign asso- 
ciates of the academy of science of Paris, in the moral 
and political department." 



426 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CXCVUI. 

Reading Lesson CXCVIII. 
THOMAS ADDIS EMMET, 

" Eminent, in both hemispheres, as a devoted patriot, and 
an eloquent lawyer, was born in the city of Cork, in Ire- 
land, in 1765. His parents were of highly respectable 
standing, and lived in easy circumstances. Emmet was 
placed, in his boyhood, at the university of Dublin, and 
designed, by his father, for the profession of medicine. 
He was educated accordingly, and pursued his medical 
studies at Edinburgh. 

" The death of his elder brother, a member of the Irish 
bar, occasioned him, at the desire of his parents, to relin- 
quish the practice of medicine for the study of law. He 
went, accordingly, to London, where he studied two years 
in the Temple, and attended the courts at Westminster. 

" On his return to Dublin, he commenced practice, as a 
lawyer, and soon attained success and professional distinc- 
tion. Among his contemporaries and associates, was the 
celebrated Curran, who was one of his circuit and term 
companions. 

" Emmet's ardent and patriotic temper led him to imbibe 
deeply the national antipathy to the British government; 
and, when the societies of United Irishmen were revived 
in the year 1795, he joined the association, and soon be- 
came a leader. The aim of this secret union, was to 
effect a revolution, and secure an independent government 
for Ireland. 

" Emmet acted as one of the executive committee of the 
societies, which were so numerous as to comprise nearly 
half a million of ardent hearts, devoted, with all the char- 
acteristic enthusiasm of Ireland, to what they deemed the 
rescue of their country. In March, 1798, he was arrested 
as a conspirator, and committed to prison, at Dublin, by 
the vice-regal government, along with Oliver Bond, Dr. 
Macneven, and other chiefs of the disaffected party. 

" In July, after a strict imprisonment, an interview took 
place between Emmet and lord Castlereagh, at Dublin 
castle ; and it was agreed that he and the other state 
prisoners should be permitted to go to the United States, 
as soon as they had made certain disclosures of their plans 
of revolution, and the projected alliance between the 



BIOGRAPHY.-EMMET 427 

inited Irishmen and France. These disclosures were 
nade in a memoir, delivered August 4th, but without the 
onfession of any names, which were inflexibly refused by 
he writers. They were, soon after, examined, in person, 
»efore the secret committees of both houses of the Irish 
larliament. 

" Instead, however, of being sent to the United States, 
Dmmet and nineteen more, were, early in 1799, landed, 
n Scotland ; and, as their disclosures were deemed in- 
;omplete, in consequence of the withholding of the names 
»efore referred to, they were consigned to fort George, a 
ertress in the county of Nairn. Here they were liberally 
reated ; but their detention lasted three years. At the 
ixpiration of that period, the list of pardons arrived, in- 
iluding the name of every prisoner except Emmet. The 
fovernor of the fortress released him, notwithstanding, 
aking all the responsibility. 

"Emmet and his exemplary wife, who had shared un- 
emittingly his imprisonment, both in Ireland and Scot- 
and, were landed at Cuxhaven from a British frigate, 
ind spent the winter of the year 1802, in Brussels, and 
hat of 1803, in Paris. In October, 1804, they sailed from 
Bordeaux for the United States, and arrived in New York 
m the 11th of the following month. 

" Emmet hesitated, at first, in choosing between the 
)rofession3 of law and medicine ; but his friends induced 
lim to undei-take the former. George Clinton, then gov- 
;rnor of the state of New York, persuaded him to aban- 
lon his original plan of settling in Ohio, and to remain in 
he' city of New York. He was admitted to the bar, at 
)nce, by special dispensation, and, by his diligence in 
jusiness and surpassing eloquence, soon reached the first 
ranks of the profession. 

" In the course of a few years, he rivalled, in business 
md fame, the most eminent of American lawyers. Occa- 
sionally, the ardor of his temperament, and the vividness 
of his political recollections, betrayed him into party poli- 
tics ; but his general career and character were those of a 
laborious, able, and most successful pleader, an energetic 
and eloquent orator, a sound republican citizen, and a 
courteous gentleman, 

"In 1812, he was appointed to the office of attorney- 
general of the state of New York. His death occurred 



428 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.-LESSON CXCIX. ' 

suddenly, in the sixty-third year of his age, Novembei 
14th, 1827, while attending the trial of an imporlanl 
cause at New York, in the circuit court of the United 
States. He was seized with an apoplectic fit, which put 
an end to his life, the following night. It was only on the 
13th, that he had delivered a most animated and powerful 
address to a jury, in a cause of the greatest importance 
and of the utmost difficulty. — An ample and deserved trib- 
ute of public I'espect was paid to his memory. 

" Mr. Emmet was a thorough classical scholar, and con- 
versant with the physical sciences. During his detention 
at the fortress in Scotland, he wrote part of an essay to- 
wards the History of Ireland, which was printed in New 
York, in 1807. His character, in private life, was irre- 
proachable; and he was held in the highest esteem, by 
all classes of society. His personal appearance was 
manly and impressive, his features were strong and reg- 
ular, — advantages which harmonized with the efifectof his 
energetic and fervid eloquence." 

Reading Lesson CXCIX. 

ROBERT FULTON, 

" The celebrated engineer, was born in Little Britain, in 
Pennsylvania,* in 1765. In his infancy, he was put to 
school in Lancaster, in his native state, where he acquired 
the rudiments of a common English education. 

" His peculiar genius manifested itself at a very early 
age. In his childhood, all his hours of recreation were 
passed in the shops of mechanics, or in the employment 
of his pencil. At the age of seventeen years, he painted 
portraits and landscapes, in Philadelphia, where he re- 
mained till he was about twenty-one, 

" In his twenty-second year, he went to England, and 
was received with great kindness by his distinguished 
countryman, Mr. West, who was so pleased with his prom- 
ising genius and his amiable qualities, that he took him 
into his house, where he continued an inmate, for several 
years. After leaving the family of West, he appears, for 

* As New York was the chief scene of Fulton's experiments in 
steam navigation, and of his actual residence, for a gi'eat part of his 
life, we have ventured to class him among the eminent men of New 
York. 



BIOGRAPHY.— ROBERT FULTON. 429 

some time, to have made painting his chief employment. 
He spent two years in Devonshire, where he formed an 
acquaintance with the duke of Bridgewater, so famous 
for his canals, and lord Stanhope, a nobleman celebrated 
for his love of science, and particularly for his attachment 
;o the mechanic arts. 

" In 1793, we find Mr. Fulton actively engaged in a 
project to improve inland navigation. Even at that early 
aeriod, he had conceived the idea of propelling vessels 
3y steam ; and he speaks, in some of his manuscripts, with 
^reat confidence of its practicability. 

" In May, 1794, he obtained, from the British govern- 
Tient, a patent, for a double inclined plane, to be used for 
Tansportation ; and, in the same year, he submitted to the 
British society for the promotion of arts and commerce, 
m improvement of his invention on mills for sawing mar- 
ale, for which he received the thanks of the society and 
m honorary medal. He also obtained patents for ma- 
chines for spinning flax and making ropes, and invented 
1 mechanical contrivance for scooping out the earth, in 
certain situations, to furm the channels for canals or aque- 
ducts. The subject of canals appears chiefly to have en- 
gaged his attention, about this time. He now, and proba- 
bly for some time previously, professed himself a civil en- 
gineer. Under this title, he published his work on canals. 

" Throughout his course, as a mechanist and civil en- 
gineer, he derived great advantage from his talent for 
Irawing and painting. He was an elegant and accurate 
draftsman. After his attention was directed to mechanics, 
le seems not to have used, his pencil as a painter, till a 
short time before his death, when he painted some por- 
;raits of his own family. 

" In 1797, he went to Paris, where he lived seven years 
m the family of Joel Barlow, during which time, he studied 
;he higher mathematics, physics, chemistry, and perspec- 
,ive. While there, he projected, the first panorama that 
ivas exhibited in Paris. He also made an experiment 
;here, in 1797, on the Seine, with a machine designed to 
aropel carcasses of gunpowder, under water, to a given 
Doint, and there to explode them. Although this project 
"ailed, he continued to employ his attention on the sub- 
ject, until he had perfected the plan for his submarine 
^oat, as it was afterwards executed." 



430 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.-LESSON CC. 

Reading Lesson CC. 
Life of Robert Fulton, continued. 

" Fulton returned to America, in 1806. We must now 
revert to an early period of Mr. Fulton's life, to trace the 
progress of that great improvement in the arts, for which 
the world is so mixch indebted to him — we mean, the 
practical establishment of navigation by steam. 

" At what time his attention was first directed to this 
subject, is not known ; but it is ascertained, that, in 1793, 
he had matured a plan, in which he had great confidence. 
The evidence of this is his letter to lord Stanhope, dated 
September 30th, 1793. 

" It is impossible to say what progress he had made in 
his plans for steamboat navigation previously to 1801, 
when he and chancellor Livingston met in Paris. His 
papers, however, render it evident, that the application 
of water-wheels, as they are now used in this country, 
was among his first conceptions of the means by which 
steam vessels might be propelled. 

" He had given to Messrs. Watt and Bolton, instruc- 
tions for constructing the first engine which was success- 
fully used in a boat ; yet he made no pretensions, as an 
inventor, with respect to the engine. On the contrary, he 
was often heard to declare, that he did not pretend him- 
self to have made, and did not know of any improvement 
that had been made by any other person, upon engines 
which were constructed according to Mr. Watt's prin- 
ciples, 

" Robert R. Livingston, minister to France, met Mr. 
Fulton there, and communicated to him the importance 
of steamboats to their common country, informed him of 
what had been attempted in America, by Fitch, and ad- 
vised him to turn his attention to the subject. They im- 
mediately proceeded to make experiments on the subject, 
the principal direction of which was left to Mr. Fulton. 
After some trials on a small scale, they built a boat upon 
the Seine, under the direction of Mr. Fulton, in 1803, 
which was completely successful. 

"On Mr. Fulton's arrival at New York, in 1806, they 
immediately engaged in building a boat of what was then 
deemed very considerable dimensions. This boat began 



BIOGRAPHY.— JAMES WADSWORTH. 431 

to navigate the Hudson river, in 1807 ; its progress through 
the water w^as at the rate of five miles an hour. 

"February 11th, 1809, Mr. Fulton took out his first 
patent for his inventions in navigation by steam ; and, 
February 9th, 1811, he obtained a second patent for some 
improvements in his boats and machinery. 

"In 1811 and 1812, two steamboats were built under 
Mr. Fulton's directions, as ferry-boats for crossing the Hud- 
son river, and, soon after, one of the same description for 
the East river. Of the former, Mr. Fulton wrote and 
published a description, in the American Medical and 
Philosophical Register, for October, 1812. These boats 
were what are called ' twin-boats ;' each of them being 
two complete hulls, united by a deck or bndge ; sharp at 
both ends, and moving equally well with either end fore- 
most, so that they cross and recross, without losing any 
time in turning. He contrived, with great ingenuity, float- 
ing docks for the reception of these boats, and a means 
by which they are brought up to them without a shock. 

"Mr. Fulton died February 24th, 1815. In person, he 
was about six feet high, slender, but well proportioned, 
with large dark eyes and a projecting brow. His man- 
ners were easy and unaffected. His temper was mild, and 
his disposition lively. He was fond of society. He ex- 
pressed himself with energy, fluency, and correctness ; 
and, as he owed more to experience and reflection than 
to books, his sentiments were often interesting from their 
originality. 

" In all his domestic and social relations, he was zealous, 
kind, generous, liberal, and affectionate. He knew of no 
use for money but as it was subservient to charity, hospi- 
tality, and the sciences. But what was most conspicu- 
ous in his character, was his calm constancy, his industry, 
and that indefatigable patience and perseverance which 
always enabled him to overcome diflSculties." 

Reading Lesson CCI. 

• JAMES WADSWORTH. 

This eminent friend and patron of the interests of agri- 
culture and of education, was born in Durham, Connecti- 
cut, on the 20th of April, 1768. The following particulars 
of his life and character, we derive from the valuable 



432 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCL 

memoir by professor James Renwick, of Columbia col- 
lege, contributed by him to the Monthly Journal of Agri- 
culture. 

" We have no details of the pursuits of Mr. Wads- 
worth's boyhood, which, however, were, no doubt, spent 
in the alternate occupations of agricultural industry and 
scholastic discipline, until we find him taking his degree 
of Bachelor of Arts, at Yale college, in the twentieth year 
of his age. 

" Before he had thus completed his collegiate education^ , 
his father had died ; and the property upon which the lat- 
ter had sustained his family in competence, and by whose 
products he had been enabled to give his sons the bestii 
education which the country could furnish, was now to be 
divided into three portions. Neither of these, it was ob- 
vious, would suffice even for the decent maintenance of 
an individual, far less for the support of a family. Indus- 
try, directed by intelligence, was therefore to be looked 
to, in the place of patrimonial fortune, and, when united to 
enterprise and moral courage, might open a way to wealth. 
All these requisites were united in the characters of James 
Wadsworth and William, one of his brothers. 

" At the present day, the sons of families under circum- 
stances similar to those of the Wadsworths, flock to our 
cities to seek situations at the counter of the retailer, or 
places at the desk of the counting-house; throng into the 
schools of medicine or divinity ; or embark in the study 
of legal science. In these lotteries, that one chance in the 
hundred turns out a prize, in the acquisition of mercantile 
wealth, the enjoyment of high professional standing, the 
consciousness of spiritual usefulness, or the attainment of 
political eminence, is more than the average amount of 
success. Yet the glitter of the few prizes continues to 
tempt youth from the pursuits of agriculture to the waste 
of their slender patrimonies, the destruction of their health, 
or the ruin of their character and morals. 

" James Wadsworth's ambition was more wisely di- 
rected. He did not see, in his superior education, the 
means of escaping from the pursuits of his forefathers, as 
if rural toil were disgraceful to the man of intelligence, 
but rather the instrument by which intellect and mental 
energy might be substituted for rustic manipulation. At 
that moment, the adoption of the Federal Constitution 



BIOGRAPHY.— JAIHES WADSWORTH. 433 

promised a government of sufficient strength to maintain 
suprfemacy over the Indian tribes bordering upon the 
settlements of more ancient date ; and large tracts of land, 
hitherto held as Indian hunting-grounds, lay open to pur- 
chase under unquestionable titles, derived from cessions 
by the aborigines to the states within whose chartered 
limits they lay. Massachusetts and New York had com- 
promised their claims to the country west of the Seneca 
lake ; the former acquiring the right of soil, the latter 
that of jurisdiction ; and Massachusetts, in a happy hour 
for the prosperity of New York, had sold her wide but 
apparently valueless estate to the copartnership long con- 
spicuous on the maps of the state of New York under the 
names of Phelps and Gorham. This firm, buying at a 
price which, estimated by the acre, at the present day, 
would be called nominal, contracted from the vast extent 
of the tract to which they had acquired a title, engage- 
ments large for the time, and both for the purpose of di- 
minishing the amount at stake, and realizing early profits, 
sought to embark others in the speculation, as purchasers 
from them. Among these was colonel Wadsworth of 
Hartford, Connecticut, who from his wealth, and public 
services in the war of the revolution, was looked up to by 
those of his name as their chief. 

" The young Wadsworths, while they were unable to 
count kin with him, were acknowledged as the descend- 
ants of a common ancestor; and he, with the patriarchal 
feeling which has now become almost obliterated, was 
willing to extend his patronage to those who bore the 
same patronymic as himself. To James and his brother 
William he gave not only sound advice, but what proved 
to be the most useful aid. He proposed to them that they 
should take an interest in his remote and almost inacces- 
sible estate, by purchasing a part, and becoming his agents 
for the management of the remainder. It has rarely hap- 
pened that young men of intelligence, education, and sure, 
although limited capital, have been induced to make such 
obvious sacrifices for the attainment of a certainly distant, 
and possibly unattainable benefit. What difficulties beset 
and long attended them, will be understood from our nar- 
rative. 

" The patrimonial property of the two Wadsworths, was 
1 worth some $12,000 or S15,000. It consisted in lands in 

T 



434 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK —LESSON CCl. 

the township of Durham, Connecticut, for which there was 
but little demand, and served rather as the basis of Credit 
than as a moneyed capital. Their purchase was situated 
in what are now known as the townships of Geneseo and 
Avon, on the eastern bank of the Genesee river. In the 
year 1790, when their enterprising journey commenced, the 
Little Falls of the Mohawk formed the extreme limit of 
continuous cultivation in the state of New York. Small 
clearings were beginning to appear on the German Flats 
and at Cosby's manor. The Indian trade enabled a cou- 
ple of white families to earn a scanty support at each of 
the two places where Utica and Geneva now stand; and 
Canandaigua was the seat of the land office of Phelps and 
Gorham. 

" With these exceptions, the whole region was a wilder- i 
ness, rendered more dreary by the necessary ravages of j 
Sullivan's army, and more dangerous by the rancor which 
those ravages had excited in the breasts of the warriors 
of the Five Nations. This rancor was kept up by the 
promptings of traders issuing from the fortress of Niagara, 
over which the British flag still floated, and had, for its 
only soothers, the magnanimity of the chiefs who disdained 
to feel resentment for the woes of open war, and thefears 
which the inferior warriors entertained of the prowess of 
the Long-Knives* 

" To encounter the perils of this position, and perform 
the labor of bringing their land into cultivation, the broth- 
ers hired a small band of hardy axemen in Connecticut, 
purchased provisions to maintain them until the first crops 
should ripen, and provided agricultural implements suffi- 
cient for their proposed farm. The whole party, with its 
heavy encumbrances, ascended the Hudson to Albany, 
then often the voyage of a week ; made the long portage 
through the pines to Schenectady ; embarked in batteaux 
upon the Mohawk, not yet improved even by the partial 
operations of the Western Land and Navigation compa- 
ny ; and followed its tortuous course until they reached 
the limit of continuous settlement. Here cattle were pur- 
chased to serve as the foundation of a future stock, and for 
temporary support ; and the party was divided into two 
bands. James continued the laborious task of threading 
nameless streams, encumbered by wood-drifts and run- 
* The Americans of the United States. 



BIOGRAPHY.-JAMES WADSWORTH. 435 

nlng in shallow channels, while William undertook the 
still more difficult duty of driving the stock through the 
pathless forest. Finally, the party was again united upon 
a small savannah on the bank of the Genesee, a spot which, 
hardly altered in appearance, is now overlooked by a flour- 
ishing town and mansions which, if unpretending, unite, 
in the highest degree, the refinements and elegances of 
civilization. 

" Here the bold and gallant bearing of "William Wads- 
worth, united with, or, we may say, directed by the saga- 
city, moral courage, and strict justice of James, won upon 
the neighboring chiefs to such a degree as to have made 
them the instruments by which the enterprise was pre- 
served from almost immediate ruin. A house having 
been built by the aid of no other implement than the axe, 
crops were planted, and the cattle turned to graze in the 
rich savannah. The forest which then encumbered much 
the greater part of the selected portion of the Genesee 
Flats, was vigorously attacked ; and the mighty trees 
yielded to the Yankee axe. 

" Classic superstition, in the events which followed, 
would have seen the Dryads uniting to avenge the de- 
struction of their desecrated groves; for, with the autumn 
came the enervating and unmanning attacks of the ague. 
This, to natives of a country where it was unknown, 
presented such terrors that the hired men broke the con- 
ditions of their engagement, and hurried, as they best could, 
toward the older settlements, leaving the two brothers al- 
most if not quite alone, in their log-built cabin. In this 
position, even mere passiveness on the part of their neigh- 
bor Big-Tree, the chief of the Indian village on the Gene- 
see, immediately opposite to the settlement of the Wads- 
worths, might have compelled them to follow their servants ; 
but they now obtained from him ready and efficient aid, — 
an aid not given, however, without satisfactory equivalent, 
and far more than repaid to his race in their waning for- 
tunes." 

Reading Lesson CCII. 

Life of James Wadsworth, continued. 

" With the opening of a new spring, a fresh supply of 
white laborers was obtained ; and whether they were ac- 



436 NEW-YORK CLASS DOOK.— LESSON CCIL 

climatized or had been familiaiized to the endemic dis- 
ease, no farther interruption occurred in the progress of 
the clearing. 

" The Indian corn of their first crop was beaten into 
meal, in a mortar fashioned by the axe, from the stump of a 
gigantic oak ; and the pestle was swung as on a spring, 
from a long and pliant pole. Gradually, in the progress 
of the clearing, the falls of a little stream were reached, 
where a saw and grist mill, erected by the Wadsworths, 
formed the nucleus of the now flourishing village of Gen- 
eseo. 

" The gradual extension and successful prosecution of 
the enterprise, together with the duties of the land agen- 
cy, led to a division of the labors of the two brothers. 
Upon William, more robust in frame and more valid in 
constitution, devolved the direction of their own agricult- 
ural labors, and, of necessity, much of the direction of the 
business of the land office ; while to the lot of James fell 
the travelling necessary to the successful prosecution of 
their own business, and for keeping up their connections 
with the landholders whose concerns were committed to 
them. 

"To judge of the extent of the labor involved in the first 
of the branches committed to James, it may be stated that 
the first plan which presented itself for rendering available 
the exuberant fertility of their meadows, was the pur- 
chase, fattening, and sale of cattle. This was tho only 
form in which a surplus agricultural product could be 
made to yield a remunerative price, in the distant and se- 
cluded valley in which the Wadsworths had placed them- 
selves. The cattle which formed the subject of this trade 
were purchased young and lean, in the Eastern states, 
driven to Geneseo, and, when fit for market, were either 
again driven to the remote markets of New York and 
Philadelphia, or to Hornellsville, on the Tioga branch of 
the Susquehannah, whence they were transported in the 
rude embarkations called arks, to Baltimore. 

" The West, although then limited by the Niagara river, 
had not begun to exercise that fascination which it now 
does. Men residing on comfortable farms, and delicate 
females, were not willing to abandon the homes of their 
youth, to try the perils and labors of the wilderness. 
Purchasers for lands and tenants of farms were, in conse- 



BIOGnAPHY.— JAMES WADSVVORTH. 437 

queiice, to be sought for at the places of their birth, in- 
stead of swarming, at each returning spring, from the native 
hive. It therefore became one of the tasks assumed by 
James Wadsworth, to travel on horseback through the 
regions most abounding in population, and endeavor to 
make sale of the wild lands of his agency, or, by the ten- 
der of liberal terms, acquire tenants to occupy lands alrea- 
dy brought into cultivation. 

" The parties most desirous to remove, were those in 
the least affluent circumstances, — persons, who, by the 
continual division of lands among successive generations, 
had reached that stage in which the amount of soil held 
by them was inadequate for their support, and who, in a 
population wholly agricultural, could find no room for oc- 
cupation, as laborers. With these, the great difficulty to 
be overcome was to find purchasers for their worn-out and 
impoverished possessions. To meet this case, lands in the 
Eastern states were taken in payment for those of the 
Genesee Valley, or for the outfit necessary to remove 
families to occupy farms as tenants. The lands thus ac- 
quired were, in their turn, to be sold, or made productive 
of rent. In the records of operations of this description, 
it appears that there were instances in which six acres of 
the virgin soil of the West were given in exchange for a 
single acre of little better than rock in New England ; and 
it is now certain that, after an interval of fifty years, the 
relative value of the two portions is reversed. Thus, while 
the objects of the speculators in the Genesee Valley, were 
completely answered, on the one hand ; on the other, the 
parties who purchased from them, have multiplied their 
original capital thirty-six fold. 

" The success which attended the early operations of the 
Wadsworths, in drawing settlers to their own lands, and 
those of which they were the agents, attracted the atten- 
tion of other parties holding property of the same descrip- 
tion. It was obvious that it was to the personal address 
and business talent of James, that this success was, in a 
great degree, to be attributed. He was in consequence, 
in the year 1796, requested to undertake a mission to 
England, for the purpose of interesting the capitalists of 
that country in the lands of the Western district of New 
York. Direct advantage was to be derived by the pro- 
prietors of large tracts, by the sale, at a profit, of what 



438 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCIII. 

they held as a speculation ; but more important, although 
indirect, benefit was to be attained by the whole region, 
in a manner that will be presently seen, 

" The circumstances of this mission, and the high char- 
acter of the parties for whom he was to act, gave him 
introduction and brought him into contact with persons 
whose position in European society was best suited to 
enlarge the views, improve the mind, and polish the 
manners of a young man of so apt a disposition. While, 
therefore, he was successful in accomplishing the objects 
of his mission, he derived no small amount of personal 
advantage and gratification from his foreign tour. His 
manner and address must have been from his youth pre- 
possessing ; but he would have differed from all his Con- 
necticut brethren, had he been free from provincial pecu- 
liarities, which, whether the growth of the Ouse, the 
Trent, the Severn, or the Housatonic — nay, even if gen- 
erated within the sound of Bow-bell, taint, with vulgarity, 
manners, in other respects, the most gentlemanly. In 
the subsequent years of Mr. Wadsworth's life, there was 
no trace of such a defect ; and so far as language is con- 
cerned, he might have undergone the most severe and 
surest of tests, that of being able to pass through every 
region in which the English language is spoken, without 
exciting an inquiry as to the place of his birth." 



Reading Lesson CCIII. 

Life of James Wadsivorth, continued. 

" The results of Mr. Wadsworth's mission to Europe had 
effects on the prosperity of the region in which he had fixed 
his residence, little appreciated at the time, and now, in a 
great degree, forgotten. It is the fashion of the day to 
advocate the infinitesimal division of the national domain, 
and to consider purchases of large contiguous tracts as a 
public evil. The experience of the state of New York 
was in direct opposition to these narrow views. The 
large estates would have been destined to remain an un- 
productive wilderness in the hands of their owners, had 
they not been opened to the view of persons seeking for 
places of settlement. Hence roads were laid out and 
worked, bridges built, aids given to the erection of schools 



BIOGRAPHY.— JAMES WADSVVORTH. 439 

and churches ; and, under the influence of this forced 
growth, the region between Seneca lake and the sources 
of waters running to lake Erie, outstripped, in its improve- 
ment, the more accessible and equally fertile Military 
Tract, which the gratitude of the state of New York had 
divided into small lots among its revolutionary soldiers. 
The accumulation of the surplus products of the former 
region created a necessity for the means of transport ; and 
its population, animated by the ardor of a youthful vigor 
and directed by minds of no little power, formed the pop- 
ular force which Clinton wielded with such skill, when 
the construction of the Erie canal was decreed, in oppo- 
sition to the vote of the city of New York and of the 
River counties. 

" It has been asserted, and the assertion is supported 
by evidence almost intrinsic, that, for thirty years from 
the time the Pulteney family acquired the estate known 
by their name, no remittance had been made to them 
in England, either as income, or as a return for the 
original investment and the large additional capital ex- 
pended in opening communications. The condition of 
the Wadsworth estate was not different, with the excep- 
tion that the funds destined by the foreign proprietors to 
the support of agents, served to defray the unostenta- 
tious but liberal hospitalities of the American landholders. 
When the time, at length, arrived, at which the profits 
of the long struggle were to be reaped, the difference be- 
tween the foreign and resident owner became apparent. 
The former had indeed fairly earned them by the em- 
ployment of his capital, and deserved them for benefits 
which a regard for his own interests had induced him to 
confer. Here, however, his influence ceased. The re- 
mittance of his capital and accumulated profits, created 
a vent for the products of the very fields of which it was 
the price, to an equal amount ; and the account was bal- 
anced without farther profit or loss to either hand. The 
Wadsworths, on the other hand, adopted as the principle 
of their action, that their profits should be reinvested 
upon the spot, and, in this way, gave a second impulse to 
the industry of their neighborhood. Thus, while a part 
of the original purchase was actually disposed of in fee, 
a larger quantity of land than was sold, was added to the 
estate. Of this, the death of general William Wadsworth 



440 NEW-TORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCIII 

without children, left the subject of our memoir the sole' 
proprietor. 

" Mr. Wadsworth was probably the only instance, since 
the breaking out of the revolutionary contest, of the invest- 
ment of a fortune accumulated by the industry of a whole 
life, in agricultural property. In most, if not all, of the 
other cases in which fortune has been derived from the 
purchase and sale of land, it has been changed in its 
investment from the tillable soil, to city lots or moneyed 
securities. It would be difficult to form an estimate of 
the enormous magnitude of the amount which has thus 
been drawn, in the western part of the state of New York 
alone, fi-om the support of agriculture. Flourishing as 
that region is, imagination can hardly conceive how much 
more flourishing it might have been, had the whole of the 
profit derived from the rise in the value of its wild lands, 
been reinvested upon the spot. 

" The estate of the Wadsworths, reserved in compliance 
with the principle originally adopted, that their capital 
should not be withdrawn from the region in which it was 
accumulated, was partly held in their own hands, partly > 
leased, and partly cultivated ' upon shares.' The Home 
Farm, cultivated under their own immediate direction, 
comprises upward of two thousand acres, of which more 
than half is a rich alluvial ' flat' of the Genesee river. 
This portion was for many years the only part from 
which any profit was derived ; and to the raising and 
feeding of cattle, of which mention has already been 
made, was added the culture of hemp, for which crop 
the inexhaustible fertility of the soil was admirably 
adapted. 

" The hilly land which borders the alluvial soil on the 
east, was, in its original state, what is styled an 'oak open- 
ing,' namely, a swelling surface studded with gigantic 
black-oak trees, and free from undergrowth. Tlie latter 
had been kept down by the fires which the Indians were 
accustomed to light in it, for the purpose of rendering it 
a profitable hunting-ground. Where this custom is put a 
stop to, young trees and bushes speedily Jiiake their ap- 
pearance ; and unless cultivation of some description be 
applied, the whole soon becomes a tangled thicket. This 
description of land was at first considered to be of little 
value. When, however, the state of the Spanish peninsula 



B10GRAPHY.-JAME3 WADS WORTH. 441 

led to the importation of considerable flocks of Merino 
sheep, the Wadsworths were speedily among the largest 
proprietors of animals of that species, which were fed 
upon the uplands; and the high prices which the fleeces 
long bore upon the seaboard, sufficed to defray the cost 
of the tedious transportation to the navigable waters of 
the Hudson. 

" Experience has shown that the oak openings, so much 
underrated at first, are better fitted for the growth of wheat 
than any other soils. But it is not surprising that this 
valuable property should have so tardily developed as to 
be considered by some a fortuitous discovery. It was not 
until the Erie canal was opened, that wheat would yield 
a return of the bare freight from the Genesee river to a 
market ; and hence there was no inducement to cultivate 
more of that grain than could be consumed on the spot. 
In spite, however, of the admirable adaptation of the up- 
land of the Home Farm to the production of wheat, gra- 
zing was, to the very last, the principal object. This appli- 
cation to a purpose which might, at first sight, appear the 
least profitable, was dictated by the prudence of Mr. 
Wadsvvorth, who was aware that it was impossible, by 
means of hired labor, to cultivate 'grain on as good terms 
as could be done by those who held their own ploughs. 
For similar reasons, root crops never formed a part of his 
system of husbandry. 

" The leasehold lands were, at first, granted to the 
settlers for the term of two joint lives and the survivor ; 
the parties named being usually the settler and his wife. 
By mutual agreement, these were subsequently changed 
to leases for a term of years ; and this became, from that 
time, the form of the original contract. These farms 
usually comprised each about one hundred acres. The 
rent was, in most cases, fixed by a money standard ; but 
it was many years before money began to pass from the 
tenant to the landlord. The convenience of the former 
demanded that it should be received in the product of the 
farm, or worked out in labor. It was not until the war 
of 1812 caused the expenditure of government funds in 
the Western district of New York, that money made its 
appearance ; and this was in the form of a partially de- 
preciated paper. The establishment of banks speedily 
followed ; and they were, in spite of the taint on their 

II ^* " 



443 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCIV. 

origin, the instruments of no little benefit to the poor 
landholders and the tenants of small farms. 

" Larger farms than those of one hundred acres, were 
leased for shorter terms, on the conditions of the payment 
of a share, usually one-third, of the grain crops, and a 
stipulated sum for the portions not under the plough. 
The rotation of the crops on property of this description, 
and the manner of cultivation, required much individual 
attention from the proprietor, and, although more profit- 
able to him than lands leased in the other manner, were 
far more troublesome to manage." 



Reading Lesson CCIV. 

Life of James Wadsivorth, continued. 

" In the collection of his rents, Mr. Wadsworth looked 
for the same punctuality and good faith from his tenants- 
that he was accustomed to exhibit in his own dealings 
with others. Hence, with the improvident or careless, o 
he gained the reputation of severity. That this was un- e 
merited, none acquainted with his active benevolence « 
and equanimity of temper can doubt. The knowledge, t] 
on the part of his tenants, of the steadiness of his course, 
in this respect, was, to the industi-ious, rather a benefit 
than an injury, for it compelled them to a close calcu- 
lation of their profits ; and the requirement of punctu- 
ality in payment prevented the careless from accumulat- 
ing debts beyond their ability to discharge. 

" Many of the farms held for long terms of years, re- 
verted to Mr. Wadsworth before his death ; and, while 
the land itself was generally in good order, the tenants 
had, for the most part, made such profit from the occu- 
pation as to be in comfortable circumstances. From in- 
quiries and comparisons made upon the spot, it was 
inferred that the tenants of his estate were, upon the 
whole, more successful in their pursuits, enjoyed a 
greater share of comfort, and laid by larger profits than 
those who purchased, upon credit, lands of equal quality 
in the neighborhood. 

" Mr. Wadsworth married, in the year 1804, Naomi 
Wolcott, of East Windsor, Connecticut. In his wife he 
had the good fortune to meet with tastes and disposition 
congenial to his own ; and those who had the happiness of 



BIOGRAPHY.-JAMES WADS WORTH. 443 

enjoying her acquaintance, still speak in the highest terms 
of her worth. Under her inspection and management, 
in circumstances that all who have attempted house- 
keeping on a liberal scale in new settlements, will know 
to be those of difficulty, the mansion at Geneseo became 
a model of well-ordered, generous, and yet unostentatious 
hospitality. 

" The loss of his wife, of his brother, and of a daughter 
who had just reached the age of womanhood, and been 
fortunately married, shed a, gloom over some of his later 
years ; but he still took pleasure in collecting a circle of 
select friends at his residence, daring the season at which 
Geneseo was readily accessible. Intelligent, well in- 
formed, and fond of intellectual converse, he possessed, 
in a high degree, the happy talent O'f drawing out his 
guests, and bringing their several talents and acquire- 
ments into requisition, for their mutual entertainment. 
The visitors of liis house, hence, never felt the pains 
of ennui ; and while he laid no restriction upon their 
engaging in games of chance or skill, the customary re- 
source of vacant minds in country residences, it is said 
that no desire for amusements of this description was 
felt by his occasional inmates for the last twenty years 
of his life. 

" The success which attended Mr. Wads worth's career 
was due, in a great degree, to his regularity and skill, as 
a man of business. We have seen how actively he was 
employed, for many years, in bringing his property into a 
productive state. In his later years, he, without noise or 
apparent effort, directed the cultivation of the large farm 
retained in his own hands, superintended the numerous 
tracts let upon shares, and gave due attention to his 
interests in the leases for long terms of years; while he, 
at the same time, fulfilled with punctilious exactitude the 
duties of agent for several considerable estates. All this 
was effected with so much ease and method, that, to his 
visitors, he had the air of being entirely at leisure. 

" Habits of this description gave him, during the winter 
and times unfavorable for travelling, the command of 
many hours in each day. These were employed by him 
in reading and literary correspondence. His favorite 
study was political economy ; but he did not fail to keep 
himself informed of the progi-ess of all the physical 



444 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCV. 

Bciences. He, in fact, furnished a singular instance of 
a person who had closed his elementary education, and 
entered into a life of great activity, at a period when the 
very names of chemistry, geology, and mineralogy, were 
yet unknown in our colleges; and had, notwithstanding, 
and at a distance from all the usual facilities, contrived 
to acquire as much of them as is considered necessary 
as an accomplishment, in our modern schemes of in- 
struction. 

" The interest he took in these pursuits, was enhanced 
by the clear view which he took of their power of being 
usefully applied to agriculture; and while, upon his own 
lands, the necessity of renovating the soil appeared in 
a perspective too remote to affect his descendants for 
several generations, he, notwithstanding, felt a generous 
impulse to bring the aid of science to those less fortu- 
nately situated. Selected tracts on scientific subjects in 
general, and others specially devoted to the application 
of science to agriculture, were, for tliis purpose, printed 
at his expense, for gratuitous distribution. In many cases 
the fact of his intervention in these publications, remained 
unknown, except to himself and the editors. Other 
articles of less extent he caused to be inserted, at his 
expense, not only in agricultural periodicals, but also in 
the newspapers circulating among the farmers of the 
state." 

Readiijg Lesson CCV. 

Life of James Wadsivorth, continued. 

" The utility of these efforts was evidently limited by 
the want of education among the persons for whose 
benefit they were intended ; and a knowledge of this 
fact led to the direction of his attention to the extension 
and improvement of the school system of the state. The 
subject of the education of the body of the people, thus 
became the absorbing interest of his later years. In his 
reflections on this subject, he formed the conclusion that 
the important point was to form a taste for reading, and 
provide suitable books; and it was among his projects to 
give to subjects of instruction the popular form of the 
newspaper. To carry this into effect would have re- 
quired more. time than he could have personally devoted 
to it ; and he found no one equally enthusiastic in the 



BIOGRAPHY.-JAMES WADSWORTH. 445 

cause with himself. Failing in this, he suggested the 
plan of the school-district libraries; and, when this had 
received the sanction of the state legislature, his in- 
fluence was exerted in procuring the printing of an an- 
nual series of suitable works, and his taste consulted in 
the choice of a competent editor. To insure the publica- 
tion of the series thus selected, he became responsible for 
the sums directed by the law to be raised in school dis- 
tricts in his own neighborhood — of which in most cases a 
pait, and in some the whole, became an actual contribu- 
tion to the cause of education from his private purse. 
He had thus the consciousness of bestowing a chaj"ity 
of the best description, and in the most unostentatious 
manner ; for, so far as the publishers or the public could 
learn, the funds appeared to be raised in the usual man- 
ner, by subscription or assessment among the inhabitants 
of the district. 

" His influence was more directly and openly exerted 
in urging the enactment of a law by which the controller 
of the state of New York was authorized to purchase, and 
send to every school district in the state, a copy of Hall's 
' Lectures on Teaching.' Finally, aware of the want of 
text-books specially adapted to the use of the common 
schools, he placed in trust a sum sufficient to call the best 
talents into competition, to be paid to the authors of the 
best elementary treatises on certain specified subjects. 
After much delay, on the part of the very distinguished 
gentlemen who were invested with the power of award- 
ing the prize, the money was paid to the successful can- 
didates ; but, by this time, the want he had desiied to 
supply had been satisfied by individual enterprise, and 
the successful treatises have not been published. In the 
selection of his umpires, Mr. Wadsworth had regard to a 
character beyond suspicion of improper influence, and in- 
telligence of the highest order. It was not his fault that 
they undertook a duty which their important avocations 
as statesmen prevented them from performing for a long 
time, and then, it is believed, by deputy. Nor can we 
blame him if the works exhibited for competition were so 
inferior in quality, or the judgment in awarding the prizes 
so imperfect, that the authors of the prefeired treatises 
have not yet been able to find a publisher bold enough to 
risk his capital on the faith of the award. 



446 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK— LESSON CCV. 

" His plan had embraced the publication, at his own 
cost, of the successful compositions. The necessity of 
such publication having been done away with by private 
enterprise, the fund he had set apart for this purpose was 
applied, by his directions, to the publication of a work 
drawn up by professor Nott and Mr. Emerson, entitled, 
' The School and the Schoolmaster.' 

" With views of the same description, he encouraged 
the access of lecturers on subjects of utility to his neigh- 
borhood ; and the sums with which he eked out their re- 
muneration from their auditors reached, in the aggregate, 
a large amount. 

" In his efforts for the promotion of education and the 
dissemination of knowledge among the people of the stale, 
Mr. Wadsworth studiously avoided publicity. He appears 
to have shrunk with instinctive modesty from any mention 
of his name as a public benefactor. Many of the facts 
which have just been stated, have been reached with diffi- 
culty ; and it may be inferred that they are far from being 
a complete list of the benefits he confeiTod upon his fel- 
low-men.* « 

" The correspondence of Mr. Wadsworth was necessa- 
rily voluminous, from the amount of the interests which 
he either possessed or represented. But, in the later 
years of his life, it took a more extended form ; and to the 
details of mere business he added a series of communica- 
tions on subjects of literature and science, in particular 
relation to his darling scheme of extending and improving 
the means of popular education. His letters are marked 
with the precision of the man of business and the pure 
diction of the scholar ; and it is said that they were occa- 
sionally extended into well-digested essays on the subjects 
he had so much at heart. Of these, but one has seen the 
light, in a piinted form. This was a letter on the subject 
of civilizing the Indians, which appeai'ed in the newspa- 
pers of the day. The publication, however, took place 
without his knowledge ; and, had he been consulted, he 

* It may not be deemed irrelevant, here, to state the fact, known 
only to the publishers of the original American Journal of Education, 
and the compiler of the present work, then editor of that periodical, 
that when that work was established, in 1826, its existence was, for 
a time, maintained, to a gi-eat extent, by the personal liberality of 
Mr. Wadsworth and the friends whom he induced to cooperate with 
him. 



II 



BIOGRAPHY.- JAMES WADSWORTH. 447 

would probably have refused his assent. The distin- 
guished statesman to whom it was addressed, was, no 
doubt, of opinion that he had no right to lock up so valua- 
ble a communication from the public, on whom it was 
well calculated to produce a powerful impression, and 
that favorable to the interests of a race which, unless some 
powerful agency intervene, seems destined to destruction. 

"It might have been expected that with such extensive 
concerns to manage, as a land agent and landlord, not to 
mention the great extent of his own farm, cultivation on a 
small scale could have created but little interest in his 
breast. But this was not so; for he delighted in directing 
the culture of his garden, and in propagating the finest 
descriptions of fruit adapted to the climate, although he 
eschewed the costly luxury of the forcing-house. 

" One peculiarity marks and distinguishes his posses- 
sions not only from those of small proprietors, but from 
those of the greater part of large landholders. This is, 
the manner in which they are studded with trees, isolated 
and in clumps, or surrounded and divided by belts. In 
this respect, their aspect is that of the most admired por- 
tions of England, with this difference in their favor — that 
the trees are not planted by the hand of man, but continue 
to exhibit the grandeur of form and dimensions which they 
had acquired in the primeval forest. In England, accord- 
ing to his own statement, he learned to love trees, ere it 
was too late to prevent their entire destruction on his own 
domains, by the unsparing axe of the pioneer of cultiva- 
tion. He, moreover, was taught that a time is finally 
reached, in the progress of population, when timber is of 
more value than any other product, even of the most fer- 
tile arable soils. With this love of the beauty of trees as 
a mere object of sight, and sense of their prospective value, 
he willingly encountered the prejudice which represents 
them as injuring the meadows, whether for the scythe or 
for pasture, by their shade. To his surprise, he found no 
diminution in the product of hay in his sheltered savannah, 
while to his stock, in the summer of our climate, the um- 
brageous shelter proved of incalculable benefit. More par- 
ticularly his rich alluvial land, extended in the form of a 
peninsula from a narrow isthmus, has been protected from 
encroachment and from the wash of the river, by the native 
belt of wood which surrounds it. 



448 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCVI. 

" Few as are the events which mark epochs in the quiet 
and successfully industrious life of Mr. Wadsworth, it 
would be possible to dilate, at great length, upon these and 
other points in which his example and experience might 
be of great value to the proprietor and cultivator of land. 
We have, however, already exceeded the limits to which 
we are confined, and must hasten to a conclusion. 

" In 1843, Mr. Wadsworth became sensible of a decline 
in his health. His disorder soon exhibited symptoms which 
demonstrated its pj'obably incurable nature. The certain- 
ty of his dissolution, at no distant day, became apparent to 
him ; and although he yielded to the wishes of his friends 
and children, by trying a change of scene and air, he was 
himself aware how fruitless must be the attempt. The 
slow and gradual approach of death he awaited with 
equanimity and fortitude ; and, although he no longer 
manifested his accustomed interest in his favorite active 
pursuits, his intercourse with his friends was not devoid 
of its usual cheerfulness, which was damped rather by 
their anxieties than by his own. Returning to his resi- 
dence at Geneseo, he there died on the 7th of June, 1844." 

Reading Lesson CCVI. 

DAVID HOSACK, M.D. and LLD., 

" Eminent as a physician, and as a lecturer in several de- 
partments of his profession, was born in the city of New 
York, on the 31st of August, 1769. After receiving his 
preparatory classical education, first, in the school of the 
Rev. Dr. McWhorter, at Newark, in New Jersey, and, 
next, in that of Dr. Peter Wilson, at Hackensack, in the 
same state, he became a student of Columbia college, in 
his native city, in the year 1786. There he continued 
during the space of two years and a half, when he went to 
Princeton college, where he was gi-aduated A.B., in 1789. 

" On his return to New York, he studied medicine, 
under the direction of Dr. Richard Bayley. He subse- 
quently attended the medical lectures in the University 
of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia. The degree of M.D. 
was conferred upon him, by this institution, in 1791. 

"Dr. Hosack commenced the practice of his profession 
at Alexandria, in the District of Columbia ; but quitted that 
place, about a year afterwards, — although he had made 



BIOGRAPHY.— DR. HOSACK. 449 

a very favorable impression on its inhabitants, — with the 
design of fixing his residence in the city of New York. 

" Not long, however, after his ai-rival there, he changed 
his plans, and went to Europe, to prosecute his medical 
studies more extensively and profitably, than it was, at 
that period, supposed could be done in his own country. 
He heard lectures, and attended the hospitals, at Edin- 
burgh and London ; and he did not confine his attention 
exclusively to subjects strictly professional. His attain- 
ments in natural history, and especially in botany, led to 
his being elected a member of the Linnsean society. 

" A paper was also presented by him to the Royal so- 
ciety, the purpose of which was, to show that the eye 
adapts itself to view objects at different distances, by 
means of the external muscles. This paper was publish- 
ed in the transactions of the society, in 1794. 

" Dr. Hosack returned to New York, in the course of 
the year just mentioned, and immediately entered on the 
duties of his profession. Through his own merits, as well 
as the patronage of Dr. Samuel Bard, then an eminent 
practitioner of medicine, who took him into partnei-ship, 
his reputation rapidly grew ; and when Dr. Bard, in 1800, 
retired to his country-seat at Hyde-Park on the banks of 
the Hudson, Dr. Hosack was left in the possession of an 
extensive and valuable practice. Such a practice too, he 
contiimed to enjoy until he himself, thirty years after- 
wards, retired to the same Hyde-Park, which he had 
purchased. 

" Dr. Hosack was equally distinguished as a professor 
or lecturer, and as a practitioner of medicine. His first 
professorship was that of botany, in Columbia college ; to 
which he was appointed in 1795, the year following that 
in which he returned from Europe. In 1797, he became 
professor of materia medica, as well as of botany. On 
the establishment of the college of physicians and sur- 
geons of the state of New York, he was chosen, by the 
regents, to one of the chairs of that institution. 

" On the organization of the Rutgers medical college, 
in 1826, he became professor of the theory and practice of 
physic in that institution, and remained such until its op- 
erations were suspended, in 1830, by the action of the 
state legislature in behalf of the medical school under the 
superintendence of the regents of the university. 



450 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCVIL 



ic 



" As an author, Dr. Hosack is also entitled to publ 
notice. His medical writings consist of a number of es- 
tsays or discourses, — for the most part inserted in the 
medical journal, — which were collected and published by 
him, in three volumes octavo, under the title of Medical 
Essays, together with a System of Practical Nosology. 

" His other writings are a discourse on horticulture, 
one on temperance, biographical notices of Dr. Rush and. 
Dr. Wistar, and an elaborate memoir of De Witt Clinton. 

" Dr. Hosack was a fellow of the Linncean society of 
London, and of the Royal society of London, of the Royal 
society of Edinburgh, and also a member of the Ameri- 
can philosophical society. 

" He died of an attack of apoplexy, on the 23d of De- 
cember, 1825, in the sixty-seventh year of his age." 

Reading Lesson CCVII. 

DE WITT CLINTON, 

" Was born, March 2d, 1769, at Little Britain, in Orange 
county. New York. His family was of English origin. 
His father served, with great distinction, during the revo- 
lutionary war, and became a major-general in the army '. 
of the United States. His mother's original name was 
De Witt: she was a member of the distinguished Dutch 
family of that name ; her parents having emigrated to 
America. 

" Mr. Clinton was educated at Columbia college, where 
he highly distinguished himself. He then commenced 
reading law with the late honorable Samuel .Tones, and, 
in due time, was admitted to the bar. But before he was 
able to acquire any practice of importance, he was ap- 
pointed private secretary to his uncle, George Clinton, 
and continued in this office until the end of his relative's 
administration, in 1785. 

" In the interim, he had been chosen secretary to the 
board of regents of the university, and to the board of 
fortifications of New York. 

" In 1797, Mr. Clinton was elected a member of the 
legislature of New York, at the time when the two great 
parties which have since divided the country, were organ- 
ized, and embraced the republican or democratic side. 

" In 1800, he was chosen by ' the council of appoint- 



BIOGRAPHY.-DE WITT CLINTON. 451 

lent,' of which body he was a member, to support their 
ause, in a controversy between them and governor Jay. 
^his was finally settled by a convention, which met at 
ilbany, in ISOl, when the constitution of New York was 
lodified in various ways. 

" The same year, he was chosen a member of the senate 
f the Union, in order to supply the vacancy occasioned 
y the resignation of general Armstrong, and continued a 
lember of that body for two sessions. After that period, 
e was chosen mayor of New York, and remained in this 
ituation, with the intermission of but two years, until 
815. 

" In 1817, he was elected, almost unanimously, gover- 
or of the state ; the two great parties having combined 
)r the purpose of raising him to that dignity, — so high 
ras the general sense of his talents and services. 

" After his reelection, great resistance, on the part of 
is political opponents, was made to his measures ; but, 
jrtunately, the canal scheme, of which Mr. Clinton was 
ne of the prime movers and most efficient advocates, had 
een so firmly established, that it was secure from attack. 

" In 1822, he declined offering himself again as a cari- 
idate, and retired into private life." 

Reading Lesson CCVIII. 
Life of De Witt Clinton, continued. 

"In 1810, Mr. Clinton had been appointed, by the sen- 
te of his state, one of the board of canal commissioners; 
ut his political opponents, who were, at that time, great- 
y predominant in the legislature, succeeded in depriving 
im of his office. 

" This act, however, occasioned a complete reaction of 
he public feeling towards him. His friends did not suf- 
er the opportunity to escape, but again brought him for- 
vard, as a candidate for the office of governor, and suc- 
;eeded in securing his election. In 1826, he was again 
sleeted ; but he died before the term was completed. 

" His decease was in consequence of a catarrhal affec- 
ion of the throat and chest, which, being neglected, oc- 
sasioned a fatal disease of the heart. He expired almost 
nstantaneously, whilst sitting in his library, after dinner, 
February 11th, 1828. 



452 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCVIH. 

" The next day, business was suspended in Albany. 
The public testimonials of respect paid to his memory, 
throughout the state and the Union, were almost number- 
less. His body was interred with every honor. 

" In person, Mr. Clinton was tall, finely proportioned, 
and of a commanding aspect. In his domestic and social 
relations, he was cheerful and kind ; in his friendships, 
warm and sincere ; and, in his moral character, unexcep- 
tionable. His manners were rather distant and reserved, 
in consequence of long habits of abstraction, and a natural 
diffidence, of which he never could divest himself 

" Mr. Clinton was an early riser, and extremely labori- 
ous ; every moment which he could spare from his neces- 
sary duties, being devoted to the cultivation of his mind. 
No one was ever more ambitious of a reputation for science 
and literature. In some of the physical sciences he was 
especially versed ; and his proficiency, as a classical and 
belles-lettres scholar, was very considerable. Hfe was a 
member of a large part of the literary and scientific insti- 
tutions of the United States, and an honorary member of 
many of the learned societies of Great Britain and the 
continent of Europe. 

" His productions are numerous, and consist of his 
speeches in the state legislature and in the senate of the - 
Union ; his speeches and messages as governor; his dis- 
courses before various literary, philosophical, and benev- 
olent institutions ; his addresses to the army, during the 
late vvar ; his communications concerning the canalf and 
his judicial opinions; besides various fugitive pieces. 

" As a public character, he is entitled to lasting honor,— 
His national services were of the greatest importance;! 
the ii.rie canal, especially, although his title to the merit 
ot being the originator of the project may be disputed, 
will always remain a monument of his patriotism and per- 
severance. He was, also, a promoter and benefactor of 
many religious and charitable institutions. 

"In the performance of judicial duties which he was 
called upon to discharge whilst mayor, and as a member 
of the 'court of errors,'— the highest judicial tribunal of 
JNew iork,— his learning and ability have received un- 
qualified encomium. 

"As a magistrate, ho was firm, vigilant, dignified, and 
of incorruptible integrity. From none of his official sta- 



BIOGRAPHY.— CADVVALLADER D. COLDEX. 453 

tions did he derive any pecuniary benefit ; though he had 
often opportunities of acquiring affluence. As an orator, 
he was forcible and manly, though not very graceful." 

Reading Lesson CCIX. 

CADWALLADER D. GOLDEN, 

" Was the grandson of lieutenant-governor Golden, and 
son of David Golden, — a gentleman who was distinguished 
for his attainments in mathematics and natural philoso- 
phy, as well as his correspondence with Dr, Benjamin 
Franklin. 

" The subject of our present sketch was born at Spring- 
hill, near Flushing, in Queen's county. Long Island, on 
the 4th of April, 1769, and was educated, in part, at 
home, by a private tutor. He went to school, however, 
at the tov/n of Jamaica, not many miles distant. 

" In the spring of 1784, he embarked with his father 
for England, where he attended a classical school near 
London, until the autumn of 1785, when he returned to 
New York. He then commenced the study of law, in 
that city ; but his family affairs making it necessary for 
him to visit the British province of New Brunswick, he 
pursued his legal studies there, for some time, and com- 
pleted them, on coming back to the state of New York in 
1789, at Kinderhook, on the Hudson river. 

" Mr. Golden was admitted an attorney, in January, 
1791, and received from governor George Glinton a com- 
mission as a public notary. He had practised his profes- 
sion in the city of New York for a short period only, 
when he removed to Poughkeepsie, in Dutchess county. 
There his success was so decided as to encourage him to 
resume his station at the New- York bar, in 1796. 

"About this time, he received the appointment of dis- 
trict attorney ; and, by his zeal, industry, and talents, soon 
laid the foundation of his subsequent eminence as a 
lawyer. 

" His intense application to business, however, so im- 
paired his health, in the course of a few years, that his 
friends became seriously alarmed on his account; and it 
was judged expedient that he should go on a journey, 
with a view to its restoration. He embarked, accordingly, 
for France, in the spring of 1803, and spent about eighteen 



454 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CCIX. 

months in that couTitry and other parts of the continent 
of Europe. 

" Returning from abroad, with his constitution reinvig- 
orated by this excursion, he not only found no difficuhy 
in recovering the business which he had before his de- 
parture from home, but rapidly extended it. His success 
was, indeed, flattering in the extreme; and, it was not 
many years before his standing, as a commercial lawyer, 
was at the head of his profession ; while, in every other 
respect, he was ranked among the first. 

"On the occurrence of the war with Great Britain, in 
1812, although it is probable that his practice at the bar 
was more lucrative than that of any other member of 
his profession in the state, Mr. Golden relinquished a large 
portion of it, that he might attend to military duties. He 
was colonel of a regiment of volunteers, and contributed 
his aid, efficiently, in the erection of the fortifications which 
were deemed necessary for the defence of the city of 
New York. 

" Mr. Golden was elected a member of the House of 
Assembly, in 1818 ; and, during the same year, succeeded 
Mr. De Witt Glinton, as mayor of the city. As such, he 
presided in the municipal court, and, by his ability, dig- 
nity, and impartiality as a judge, fully sustained the high 
reputation which that court had obtained. 

"In 1822, he was elected to congress; and, in 1824, 
to the senate of his own state. He was a distinguished 
and useful member of these bodies; his opinions being 
always listened to with great respect, and especially so 
on questions requiring, for their proper decision, exten- 
sive legal attainments. 

" In addition to the professional and other duties al- 
ready mentioned, which Mr. Golden was called upon to 
perform, he found leisure to bestow much attention on 
devising the means of promoting, in various ways, the im- 
provement and well-being of the community to which he 
belonged. The intellectual and moral education of youth 
was, with him, a favorite object ; and the public schools in ; 
New York, accordingly, ranked him among their most 
active and efficient founders and patrons. He took a i 
prominent part in digesting a proper system for the ref- 
ormation of juvenile delinquents, and was subsequently \ 
the president of the society incorporated for this impor- 



BIOGRAPHY.— CADWALLADER D. GOLDEN. 455 

tant purpose. For many years he was one of the govern 
ors of the New-York hospital." 

Reading Lesson CCX. 
Life of CadwaUader D. Colden, continued. 

" Mr. Colden was one -of the earliest and most zealous 
promoters of the system of ' internal improvement' in the 
state of New York. His name is recorded among those 
subscribed to the celebrated memorial on the subject, 
bearing date in February, 1816 ; and he was a member 
of the committee of correspondence appointed by the 
great meeting held in the city of New York, in that year, 
relating to it. In the history of the Erie canal, which was 
published by order of the state legislature, we find his 
name often recorded in connection with measures condu- 
cive to the accomplishment of that important work. After 
its completion, he wrote, as is well known, the memoir 
concerning it which was published by the common coun- 
cil of the city. 

" Subsequently to his withdrawal from the senate, in 
1827, he devoted much of his time to the supenntending 
of the construction of the Morris canal, connecting the 
waters of the Delaware river with the bay of New York. 

" His hfe of his friend, Robert Fulton, is his chief lit- 
erary production. It was read by him before the New- 
York literary and philosophical society, and published 
by that association, with the laudable design of erecting 
some memorial in honor of that eminent and successful 
experimental philosopher. 

" Mr. Colden contemplated the publication of the writ- 
ings of lieutenant-governor CadwaUader Colden, in a 
number of volumes, with an original memoir of his life, 
drawn up from materials in his possession ; but he made 
only partial advances in the undertaking. 

" His death, from dropsy in the chest, took place on 
the 7th of February, 1834, in Jersey city, where he had 
resided for several years. 

" What has been said by Mr. Colden of Fulton, may, 
with entire propriety, be applied to himself: — ' In all his 
domestic and social relations, he was generous, liberal, 
and affectionate. He knew of no use for money, but as it 
was subservient for charity, hospitality, and the sciences.' 



456 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.-LESSON CCXI. 

"Besides the time and money which he spent in pro- 
moting the interests of his fellow-citizens, in the various i 
modes already mentioned, it may be stated, to his great 
credit, that he was ever solicitous to afford encouragement 
to the younger members of his profession, to genius in the 
arts and sciences, and, in short, to all who were actuated 
by commendable motives. To such he liberally imparted 
his counsels, his hospitalities, and even, if requisite, pecu- 
niary aid. And there was no advocate at the bar more 
prompt to lend his professional services, without reward, 
when the occasion called for it, in defence of tiie poor and 
unfortunate," 

Reading Lesson CCXI. 

MRS. FRANCES P. LUPTON, 

" A woman of very extraordinary attainments, was the 
daughter of Dr. Piatt Townsend, formerly of Cedar 
Swamp, Long Island, and was married early to Lancas- 
ter Lupton, Esq., — a lawyer of respectable attainments, 
who died, a few years after his mairiage, leaving to his 
widow the care of an infant daughter, who likewise died, 
— ere she completed her sixteenth year. 

" On the decease of her husband, Mrs. Lupton devoted 
herself to the acquisition of knowledge, both as a source 
of rational delight, and for the improvement of her child. 
And, having tasted the pleasures of science, she continued 
the pursuit, after the object which first urged her forward, 
had been taken away by death. 

" She acquired a general knowledge of natural history, 
particularly of botany, of which sbe was very fond, and, in 
which she made great proficiency. She spoke the French 
language with facility, and was also well versed in its lit- 
erature. She read Spanish and Italian with ease, and 
had so far mastered Hebrew, as to have perused the Old 
Testament in that language. She was, moreover, learned 
in the polite literature of her own country ; and her knowl- 
edge of ancient history was distinguished for its accuracy 
and extent. Her taste and skill in the fine arts, excited 
universal approbation. 

" She was an honorary member of the National Acad- 
emy of Design, and executed, during her leisure, many 
pieces in painting and sculpture, which elicited high com- 



BIOGRAPHY.-REV. DR. J. M. MASON. 457 

mendation from the most competent judges. Among all 
her various pursuits, she neither overlooked nor despised 
the oi-dinary avocations of her sex. 

" Her productions in embroidery, needle-work, dress, 
and fancy articles, would of themselves, on account of tlieir 
execution, have justly entitled her to the praise of uncom- 
mon industry. In short, she attempted nothing in which 
she did not excel'; and in an industrious and well-spent 
life, there were but few things which she did not attempt. 
She spent much time, however, in society, and mingled in 
its enjoyments with alacrity and pleasure. In a word, she 
was one of those rare and highly gifted females, whose 
endowments are not only an ornament to her sex, but to 
human nature. In all the relations of wife, mother, rela- 
tive, and friend, she was all that duty required, or that 
affection could desire." 

Reading Lesson CCXII. 

JOHN MITCHELL MASON, D.D., 

"An eminent theologian and pulpit orator, was born in 
the city of New York, March 19th, 1770. He entered 
Columbia college, in that city, and was graduated in May, 
1789, with the reputation he ever afterwards sustained, of 
a thorough classical scholar. 

" Under his father, a learned and respectable clergy- 
man of the Presbyterian denomination, he then prepared 
himself for the sacred ministry, until the year 1791, when 
he left his native country, in order to complete his educa- 
tion at the university of Edinburgh. Hei-e he attended 
the most celebrated courses of lectures connected with 
divinity, and formed valuable and distinguished acquaint- 
ance. In the theological societies, he made himself con- 
spicuous by the vigor of his understanding, the energy of 
his elocution, and the rigor of his doctrines. 

" Towards the end of the year 1792, he was obliged to 
return to New York, by the death of his father, whom he 
soon succeeded in the Scotch presbyterian church in Ce- 
dar street. 

" In 1800, he conceived the idea of a public theological 
seminary, to be established by the authority, and to con- 
tinue under the superintendence of the general synod of 
the ' associate reformed church.' The plan which ha 

U 



158 NEW- YORK CLASS-B00K.-LES30\ CCXIII. 

digested, was carried into operation, by his own agency 
and influence, in 1801. 

" The synod appointed him their professor; and, with 
their sanction, he visited Europe, for the purpose of pro- 
curing a library. After his return, he zealously discharg"<d 
the duties of his office, until he was constrained to leave 
it, by the decline of his health. 

" In 1810, he dissolved his pastoral relation with the 
Cedar-street church, and formed anew congregation, with 
which he took possession of the Murray-street church, 
when it was opened in 1812. 

"In 1811, he accepted the appointment of provost of 
Columbia college — a station which he filled for five years. 
The variety and severity of his labors, at length affected his 
health so seriously that he resigned his provostship, and, 
in 1816, repaired to Europe to recruit his debilitated 
frame. He returned towards the end of 1817, in better 
condition, and preached and taught, again, with charac- 
teristic force and success. But weakness and exhaustion 
soon recurred, in consequence of two paralytic attacks in 
1819. 

" In 1821, however, he undertook the charge of Dick- 
inson college, in Pennsylvania; and, in this, his strength 
again failed. In the autumn of 1824, he returned to New 
York, where he lingered, the shadow of what he had been, 
until the period of his death, the last week of 1829, in the 
sixtieth year of his age. 

" Dr. Mason possessed uncommon powers, as a preacher 
and controversialist, acquired great celebrity for erudition 
and zeal as a teacher, and deserved esteem for his domes- 
tic virtues. 

" The principal works of Dr. Mason, besides his po- 
lemical writings, consist of sermons, essays, orations, and 
reviews, published at different times. His funeral dis- 
coui'se on general Alexander Hamilton, is a noble speci- 
men of his ability, in that department of composition." 



Reading Lesson CCXIII. 

ROBERT ADRAIN, LL.D., 

" Was born on the 30th of September, 1775, at Carrick- 
fergqs, in Ireland. He was remarkable, even in child- 



BIOGRAPHY— DR. ADRAIN. 459 

hoo(], for the quickness of his intellect, and for his rapid 
proficiency in learning, 

" His education at school, however, was discontinued 
at the age of fifteen, in consequence of the death of his 
parents. Young as he was, he was obliged, in order to 
gain a livelihood, to open a school, 

" At Ballycarry, while teaching there, he happened, 
one day, to meet, in an old book on arithmetic, with some 
of the signs used in algebra. So strong a curiosity was 
excited in him to know their meaning, that he gave him- 
self no rest until it was gratified ; and, by his own un- 
aided efforts, he soon made himself acquainted with the 
elements of algebraical science, 

" At the commencement of the civil war, or rebellion, 
of 1798, Mr, Adrain was engaged in the occupation of a 
private tutor, in the family of a Mr, Mortimer, an officer 
under the govei-nment. This engagement, however, was 
abruptly terminated in consequence of Mr, Adrain taking 
an active part with the insurgents. His employer, al- 
though previously on the most intimate and kindly terms 
with him, was so much exasperated, at this step, as to 
offer a reward of <£50 for his apprehension, 

" An action soon afterwards took place between the hos- 
tile parties, in which Mr. Mortimer was mortally wounded, 
and Mr, Adrain, who held the rank of captain in his own 
company, received a wound in the back, whether acci- 
dentally or intentionally, from one of his own men. The 
wound was so severe that Mr, Adrain was not expected 
to recover. It was reported, indeed, through the country, 
that he was actually dead: a circumstance which facili- 
tated his escape from pursuit, and, perhaps, enabled him, 
— the cause of his country having become manifestly 
hopeless, — to make his way to America in safety, 

" He landed at New York during the prevalence of the 
yellow fever; and, being told, on the morning following 
his arrival, that the bed he had slept on was one in which 
a man had died of the fever, he hastened to leave the city, 
and to seek employment elsewhere, as a teacher. 

" At Princeton, in New Jersey, he obtained an appoint- 
ment in the academy of that place, and continued there 
two or three years, when he removed to Yoi'k, in Penn- 
sylvania, and became principal of theYork county academy. 

" He now became a contributor to the Mathematical 



460 NEW-YORK CLA3S-BOOK.-LESSON CCXIV. 

Correspondent, edited by Mr. George Bai'on, and pub- 
lished in the city of New York. The different problems 
proposed in this work, were all of them solved by him ; 
and his solutions were remarkable for their simplicity, 
ingenuity, and elegance. 

"In 1805, Mr. Adrain took charge of the academy at 
Reading, in Pennsylvania. During his residence at this 
place, he edited a periodical work entitled the Analyst, 
intended as a successor to the Mathematical Correspond- 
ent, which had, for some time, ceased to be published." 

Reading Lesson CCXIV. 

Life of .Dr. Adrain, continued. 

" Ml". Adrain was, at length, extensively known as a 
skilful mathematician ; and, in the year 1810, he was 
appointed to fill the professorship of mathematics and 
natural philosophy in Queen's (now Rutgers) college, at 
New Brunswick, in New Jersey. Honors of different 
kinds were now awarded him. Shortly after removing 
to New Brunswick, the degree of LL.D. was conferred 
upon him ; in 1812, he was elected a member of the 
American philosophical society ; and, in the following 
year, a member of the American academy of arts and 
sciences. 

"About this period, he published an edition of Hut- 
ton's Course of Mathematics, which was improved in its 
arrangement, and enriched with various notes and addi- 
tions. 

"In the summer of the year 1813, Dr. Adrain was 
chosen professor of mathematics and natural philosophy 
in Columbia college, in the city of New York, in the j^lace 
of Dr. John Kemp, who had died, a few months pre- 
viously; and, when a few years afterwards, it was deemed 
expedient, by the trustees of the college, to divide the 
professorship which he held, into the two distinct profes- 
sorships of mathematics, and of natural philosophy, he 
continued in charge of the former of these. 

" After having resided in New York thirteen years, he 
was induced by the state of his wife's health, which re- 
quired the air of the country, to resign his professorship, 
and to accept an appointment to the same post which 
he had once before occupied at New Brunswick, where, 



BIOCiR \PriY.-GE.\. BROWX. 461 

however, he remained only until 1827, when he accepted 
tlie office ol' professor of mathematics, in the university of 
Pennsylvania. In this situation he continued till the year 
1834. 

"On his resignation of his professorship, in that year, he 
ret,ired, at first, to New Brunswick ; but, after a short pe- 
riod, unable to overcome his propensity to communicate 
knowledge to others, he once more went to the city of 
New York, and engaged in the business of instruction, 
both in his own apartments, and in the grammar-school 
connected with Columbia college. 

" About three years before his death, he was induced, 
by the persuasion of his family, to quit this field of his 
labors, and once more to retire to New Brunswick. His 
death took place on the 10th of August, 1843. 

" The period of Dr. Adrain's first residence in New 
York, was one, with him, of much intellectual activity. 
In the early part of it, a paper of his appeared in the 
transactions of the American philosophical society, on the 
fijjure and magnitude of the earth, which added consider- 
ably to his reputation, and is, without doubt, the most 
important of his productions. He also made contributions 
on mathematical subjects to several periodicals, and edit- 
ed, during the latter portion of the period in question, the 
Mathematical Diary, a work of the same general character 
as the Analyst. 

" Dr. Adrain left behind him a number of manuscripts, 
which, like his published works, have been pronounced, 
by a competent judge, to exhibit a very high order of 
ability. Great ingenuity, as well as a remarkable degree 
of simplicity and clearness, chai'acterized every thing that 
he wrote. It may be added that his acquirements were 
by no means confined to the department of science in 
which he excelled. He was a good classical scholar, was 
extensively acquainted with general literature, and pos- 
sessed no little skill and power in conversation." 

Reading Lesson CCXV. 

MAJOR-GENERAL JACOB BROWN. 

" Was born in Bucks county, Pennsylvania,* where his 

• The greater part of general Brown's life waa spent, however, in 
the state of New York. • 



462 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXV. 

ancestors, for several generations, had been members of 
the society of Friends. His father was a respectable 
farmer, who, however, not content with the moderate 
income which his occupation afforded him, embarked in 
commercial enterprises, which, proving unsuccessful, de- 
prived him entirely of his property. 

" When this happened, young Brown, though only 
about sixteen years old, applied himself manfully to the 
task of making his own way in the world. From eighteen 
to twenty-one years of age, he taught a school at Cross- 
wicks in New Jersey ; devoting, during the same period, 
his leisure time, most assiduously, to the improvement of 
his mind. 

" He next spent two years in the neighborhood of Cin- 
cinnati, being employed in surveying the public lands. 
Going to the city of New York, in 1798, he, once more, 
but for a few months only, taught a public school. There, 
too, he commenced the study of law, but soon abandoned 
it, not finding it congenial with his tastes. 

" Having purchased some land in that part of the state 
of New York, which is now embraced within the limits 
of Jefferson county, near lake Ontario and the river 
St. Lawrence, he established himself upon it, in 1799, 
while wholly uncultivated. The new settlement made 
rapid progress; and general Brown distinguished himself, 
as an enlightened and practical cultivator, as well as by the 
ability and energy with which he prosecuted the measures 
best adapted to promote the improvement of the country. 

"In 1809, he was appointed to the command of a regi- 
ment of militia, and, in 1811, promoted to the rank of a 
brigadier-general. At the beginning of the war with 
Great Britain, in June, 1812, general Brown was en- 
trusted with the command of a brigade in the first de- 
tachment of New- York militia, which was called into the 
service of the United States, and was charged with the 
defence of the frontier from Oswego to lake St. Francis, 
a distance of nearly two hundred miles. 

" He had speedily an opportunity of distinguishing him- 
self by his bravery and skill in the defence of Ogdens- 
burg, on the 4th of October. With a force of less than 
four hundred men, he succeeded in repelling the attack 
of eight hundred well-appointed British troops. 

"After the expiration of his term of service, he returned 



BrOGRAPHY.-GEN. BROWN. 463 

to his resilience, at Brownville. The government, how- 
ever, highly appreciating the military qualifications of 
general Brown, and unwilling to lose his services, even 
for a season, tendered to him the appointment of a col- 
onel in the regular army, — an offer declined by him, from 
an unwillingness to fall from the rank which he already 
held. 

" In the spring of the year 1813, the important post of 
Sackett's hai'bor, having been left with only four hundred 
troops for its defence, was threatened by the enemy. 
Colonel Backus, who commanded this force, and who 
had been merely a few days on the ground, and was un- 
acquainted with the neighboring localities, sent to general 
Brown, residing, as he did, not farther than eight miles 
from Sackett's harbor, to invite him to come with as large 
body of the militia as he could collect, and take command 
of the post. 

" Brown hesitated not a moment in complying. The 
threatened attack was made, and defeated by the resolute 
valor of the Americans, disposed and directed by their 
leader, with admirable judgment and skill." 

Reading Lesson CCXVI. 
Life of general Brown, continued. 

" The government, a few months afterwards, appointed 
general Brown a brigadier in the United States army. 
He partook in the unsuccessful expedition, in the autumn 
of this year, 1813, down the St. Lawrence, against Mon- 
treal, and, at French creek, repulsed, with his own brigade, 
a considerable force sent from Kingston to impede his pro- 
gress. 

" He was the officer of the day, on passing the British 
fort of Prescott ; and the safety of the army is to be at- 
tributed, on that occasion, in a great measure, to his able 
conduct. During the whole course of the expedition, 
indeed, he was distinguished for the ability with which he 
performed the duties assigned to him. 

" Soon after the retreat of the troops from Canada, in 
November, general Brown was invested with the chief 
command of them, by the sickness of general Wilkinson, 
and the absence, of the other officers, his seniors ; and, 
early in the year 1814, he was promoted to the rank of a 



464 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXVL 

major-general. Througli his exertions and those of a num- 
ber of efficient officers, under his orders, the spirits of the 
troops were, in the course of the following winter, in a re- 
markable degree revived, and their discipline also, exceed- 
ingly improved. 

" The enemy having, in the meantime, obtained posses- 
sion of fort Niagara, and being in considerable force on 
the opposite shore, a determination was once more formed 
to remove the principal seat of the war to that frontier. 
In the spring of 1814, general Brown, accordingly, was 
directed to march with his division from French Mills, 
by the way of Sackett's harbor, to Buffalo, and to take 
the chief command of the expedition intended to invade 
Canada." 

The following brief recapitulation of the events of the 
campaign, as recorded in the historical part of this volume, 
will enable the reader to trace, in connection, the inci- 
dents of general Brown's life. 

" Stopping no longer at Buffalo, than was requisite for 
making the necessary preparations, he led his troops 
across the Niagara river, and reduced fort Erie. On the 
5th of July, he fought the battle of Chippewa; and, on 
the 25th of the same month, another in the immediate 
vicinity of the Falls ; in both of which he was victorious 
against superior numbers. 

" In the last of these actions, he was twice sevei'ely 
wounded, but did not quit the field until the victory was 
completed, although so enfeebled from loss of blood, as to 
require to be supported on his horse. 

" After recovering from his wounds, we find him wiihin 
the walls of fort Erie, to which the American army had 
retired, on the British receiving a 2:)reponderating rein- 
forcement. The latter, in his absence, had made an in- 
effectual attempt to carry the fi)rt by storm ; but general 
Brown, not satisfied with acting on the defensive, made a 
sortie on the 17th of September, the day before the fire 
from the enemy's batteries was to commence. The be- 
siegers were driven from their position ; and their works 
were destroyed or rendered unserviceable ; and this was 
accomplished, too, with a force of two thousand against 
nearly four thousand men. 

" An end, soon after this, was put to the war, by the 
treaty of Ghent; and general Brown, who remained on 



BIOGRAPHY— JES;SE BUEL. 4(55 

the peace establishment of the aimy, was appointed to 
the command of the northern military division. In 1821, 
he became commander-in-chief; from which time, till his 
death, on the 24th of February, 1828, he resided at Wash- 
ington city. The disease of which he died, is said to have 
been a consequence of another contracted by him at fort 
Erie, during the war, and from the effects of which he had 
never since been wholly exempted. 

" General Brown possessed, in an eminent degree, the 
various qualifications requisite for being a successful mil- 
itary chief To great personal bravery, he united a moral 
courage, which on no emergency was found to waver ; 
and, to an excellent judgment in determining the objects 
it was in his power to accomplish with the means at his 
disposal, and skill in combining his measures, he added 
great firmness and decision of character, an untiring ac- 
tivity, and the faculty of gaining the respect and confidence 
of those with whom he had intercourse, and especially of 
all subjected to his authority. Nothing, in short, seems 
to have been wanting, to give him a place in the foremost 
rank of military commanders, excepting a longer period, 
and a wider field, of action." 



Reading Lksson CCXVII. 

JESSE BUEL, 

"Was bom at Coventry, in the state of Connecticut,* on 
the 4th of January, 1778. When twelve years of age, his 
father removed from Coventry to Rutland, in Vermont, 
where, two years afterwards, he was, at his own urgent 
desire, apprenticed to the pinnting business. 

" When he had attained his eighteenth year, he pur- 
chased the unexpired three years of his term of service, 
and worked, for some time, as a journeyman, first in the 
city of New York, and, subsequently, at Waterford and 
Lansingburg. 

" In 1797, he commenced the publication of a political 
newspaper, at Troy. In September, 1801, he married, 
and removed to Poughkeepsie. The newspaper which 

* The principal part of his life was occupied, however, in connec- 
tion with the press, and, subsequently, the busuiess of agriculture, in 
the slate of New York. 



466 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.-LESSON CCXVII. 

he there published proving an unsuccessful speculation, he 
found himself reduced to utter bankruptcy. 

" His next residence was Kingston, at which place he 
again established a weekly paper, and continued from 
1803 to 1813 ; applying himself, with great diligence, to 
his occupation. During a part of this period, he sustained, 
with reputation, the office of judge, in the Ulster county 
court ; and he not only retrieved his losses, but even ac- 
quired considerable property. 

" He removed, in 1813, to Albany, by the persuasion of 
judge Spencer and other friends, to undertake the editor- 
ship of the Argus, and, in the following year, was appoint- 
ed state printer. This office he held until 18^0, when he 
gold his interest in the Argus, as well as his printing 
establishment, and purchased a small farm not far from 
Albany. 

" On this farm he resided during the last nineteen years 
of his life; his attention being almost exclusively directed 
to its improvement, and to the acquirement and diffusion 
of agricultural information. His very remarkable success 
in the accomplishment of these objects, has entitled him to 
a notice, in connection with the progress of agriculture in 
the state of New York. 

" ' By manuring, by draining, by good tillage, by alter- 
nating crops, by root culture, and by the substitution of 
fallow crops for naked fallows,' he succeeded in trans- 
forming a barren tract into a productive estate, which be- 
came every year more valuable. 

" After satisfying himself, by actual experiment, of the 
advantages of his system of agriculture, he grew desirous 
of making it as extensively known as possible, and, for 
this purpose, commenced in 1834, under the auspices of 
the New- York state agricultural society, the publication 
of the Cultivator, a monthly periodical, devoted to agri- 
cultural and horticultural subjects ; which has, in fact, 
been very instrumental in exciting a spirit of improve- 
ment among farmers, through a wide extent of country. 

" Besides numerous articles contributed by Mr. Buel to 
the columns of the Cultivator, he was the author of the 
Farmer's Companion, a work ' containing, within a small 
compass, the embodied results of his agricultural experi- 
ence,' and a great number of addresses, delivered before 
agricultural and horticultural societies, in New York and 



BIOGRAPHY.— W. L. STONE. 467 

Bome of the neighboring states. Such societies, even in 
the remoter states, also vied with each other in enrolling 
his name in the list of their members. 

" Nor were his merits acknowledged in his own country 
only. He was chosen a member of the Lower Canada 
agricultural society, of the London horticultural society, 
of the royal and central society of agriculture, at Paris, 
and also a member of the society of universal statistics, in 
the same city. 

" Mr. Buel was, several times, a member of the New- 
York legislature. In 1836, he was an unsuccessful can- 
didate for the office of governor of the state ; and he was 
one of the regents of the university, at the time of his 
death, — which occuri'ed, October 6th, 1839, at Danbury, 
in Connecticut, while on his way to deliver a lecture to 
an agricultural society at New Haven. 

" He was without reproach in the various relations of 
private life, and was esteemed by all who knew him, for 
his integrity of character, and for the unaffected affability 
and simplicity of his deportment." 

Reading Lesson CCXVIIL 

WILLIAM LEET STONE, 

" Was born at Esopus, in New York, in 1793, and was 
the son of the Rev. William Stone, a clergyman of the 
presbyterian church. When quite young, he removed 
to the western part of this state, where he used to assist 
his father, in the care of a farm, and where he acquired 
a fondness for agricultui'al pursuits, which he always re- 
tained. 

" At the age of seventeen, he left home, and placed 
himself with colonel Prentiss, the proprietor of the 
Cooperstown Freeman's Journal, to learn the printing 
business ; and, from this time, he began to write news- 
paper paragraphs. 

" In 1813, he became an editor of the Herkimer 
American. He next edited a political newspaper at 
Hudson, then one at Albany, and then, again, one at 
Hartford, in Connecticut. At length, in the spring of 
1821, Mr. Stone succeeded Mr. Zachariah Lewis in the 
editorship of the New-York Commercial Advertiser, be- 
coming also one of its proprietors. 



468 NEW- YORK CI-ASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXIX. 

" He continued in charge of this journal, till his death, 
which took place at Saratoga Springs, August 15th, 1844. 

" The attention of Mr. Stone, during his career as an 
editor, was very far from having been absorbed by the 
party contentions of the day. While residing at Hudson, 
he was the editor of a literary periodical, styled the 
Lounger, which was distinguished for sprightliness and 
frequent sallies of wit. Subsequently, he furnished a 
number of tales to the annuals; some of which, with ad- 
ditions, he republished in 1834, under the title of Tales 
and Sketches. Many of the characters and incidents in 
these are historical, being founded on traditions respect- 
ing the revolutionary or still earlier history of the United 
States, that he had listened to when a boy, from the lips 
of his father. 

" In 1832, Mr. Stone published his Letters on Masonry 
and Anti-masonry ; then followed his Mathias and his 
Impostures ; and, in 1836, appeared a little work from 
his pen, styled Ups and Downs in the Life of a Gentle- 
man, — intended as a satire on the follies of the day ; 
although the main facts stated actually occurred in the 
life of an individual well known to him. 

*' It had been the purpose of Mr. Stone, from an early 
period of his life, to gather up and preserve what re- 
mained concerning the traits and character of the red 
men of America, and to connect with an account of these, 
an authentic history of the life and times of the prominent 
individuals who figui'ed immediately before the revolu- 
tion, more especially of Sir William Johnson. 

" His main design was never executed; but the mate- 
rials which he had collected, enabled him to prepare, and 
give to the public, several works on the general subject 
to which they had reference. These were the Memoii's 
of Joseph Brandt, a Memoir of Red-Jacket, the Life of 
Uncas, and Wyoming." 

Reading Lesson CCXIX. 

ROBERT C. SANDS, 

" Distinguished as a writer, was bom in the city of New 
York, May 11th, 1799. He was remarked, at an early 
age, for the quickness of his apprehension, and his facility 
in acquiring knowledge. When seven years old, he began 



BIOGRAPHY.— R. C. SANDS. 469 

the study of the Latin language, and, when only thirteen, 
was admitted to the sophomore class of Columbia college. 
After graduating in 1815, he entered upon the study of 
the law, in the office of Mr. David B. Ogden, an eminent 
member of the New- York bar. 

" In 1820, he commenced the practice of his profes- 
sion. His first attempt, however, as an advocate, was 
unsuccessful, or, at least, did not approach the standard 
of excellence at which he had aimed ; and he was, in 
consequence, so much discouraged, that he made no 
second attempt, of any moment, before a jury, and grad- 
ually withdrew himself from practising as an attorney. 

" He thenceforth devoted himself exclusively to literary 
pursuits, and depended upon his pen for the means of 
support, — a support which, at length, was rendered less 
precarious by his becoming assistant-editor of the New- 
York Commercial Advertiser, with a liberal salary. He 
died from an attack of apoplexy, which he experienced, 
while engaged in compositioh, on the 17th of December, 
1832, in the thirty-fourth year of his age. 

"Although, while a student in college, Mr. Sands had 
performed, in a highly creditable manner, the exercises 
assigned to him, in every branch of the course of instruc- 
tion, it was to classical and general literature that his 
attention was, in preference, directed ; and his tastes for 
these studies were farther extended and improved, in 
the subsequent period of his career. He became, also, 
conversant with the French, Italian, Spanish, and Portu- 
guese languages and literatures. 

" A selection from his writings was published after his 
death, with a memoir of the author, prefixed by Mr. 
Gulian C. Verplanck, in two volumes, octavo. These 
contained an Historical notice of Hernan Cortes, con- 
queror of Mexico, which was translated into Spanish, 
and circulated extensively in Mexico, South America, 
and the Spanish West Indies ; — an essay on Domestic 
Literature ; — Isaac, a Type of the Redeemer ; — a notice 
of tlie Caio-Gracco of Monti ; — the Garden of Venus, 
from the Italian of Politian ; — Yamoyden, a Tale of the 
Wars of King Philip, a poem in six cantos, the joint 
production of Mr. Sands and the Rev. James Wallia 
Eastburn ; — and a number of minor pieces, concluding 
with the lines entitled The Dead of 1832, which ap- 



470 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXX. 

pearetl in the Commercial Advertiser, only about a week , 
before the death of Mr. Sands." 

Reading Lesson CCXX. 

HENRY INMAN, 

" A distinguished painter, was born at Utica, in the state 
of New York, on the 20th of October, 1801. His talent 
for that department of art in which he became eminent, 
showed itself early ; but he received no regular instruc- 
tion in drawing, until his parents removed to the city of 
New York, about the year 1812. 

" While under the care of an elementary teacher, he 
attracted the attention of Jarvis, the painter, who pro- 
posed to receive him as a pupil. This proposal decided 
his career : a warrant which had been obtained for him 
to enter the military academy at West Point as a cadet, 
was relinquished ; and he entered upon a seven years' 
apprenticeship with Jarvis. He continued to serve out 
this whole term ; and to this exact and regular discipline, 
much of his professional reputation was owing. 

" Inman began his career as a portrait and miniature 
painter, in New York, and soon acquired a high reputa- 
tion for the excellence and fidelity of his likenesses. He 
afterwards removed to Philadelphia, and then to a farm 
which he purchased in the neighborhood of Mount Holly, 
New Jersey ; being constantly engaged in his profession, 
chiefly as a portrait painter. He returned, subsequently, 
to the city of New York, which was his place of residence, 
during the remaining years of his life. 

*' Remarkable for great rapidity as well as truth, in 
his portraits, he has left, amidst a large number of pic- 
tures, likenesses of many of his distinguished countrymen. 
Among these, his portraits of bishop White and chief-jus- 
tice Marshall, may be mentioned as works of the highest 
Older of merit. The genius of Inman was not restricted 
to that branch of art in which he was chiefly engaged ; 
he enjoyed, also, a fine reputation for fancy and landscape 
painting, of which he has left some admirable specimens. 
" The prosperity of Inman's professional career, was 
followed by pecuniary embarrassment, in which he be- 
came involved by unfortunate speculations, about the year 
1836. His health, too, was, for many years, seriously 



BIOGRAPHY.— HENRY INMAN. 471 

impaired ; and he was prevented from executing the com- 
mission from congress to paint a picture for the capitol, 
for which he had chosen, as his subject, a scene illustra- 
tive of settlers in the west. 

" In the summer of 1844, Inman visited England, for 
his health, — and, during his short visit, executed two of 
his most remarkable likenesses, the portraits of Words- 
worth and of Chalmers. He returned without improve- 
ment of his health ; and the malady which had, for many- 
years, afflicted him, proved to be a disease of the heart, 
in one of its most aggravated forms, accompanied with 
frequent and severe paroxysms. During the intervals, he 
contirmed to practise his art with an unabated zeal and 
genius, until within a few weeks of his death, which took 
place early in January, 1846. 

" Mr, Inman was gifted with brilliant conversational 
powers ; and his private and professional career was dis- 
tinguished by the feelings of a genuine artist, towards his 
fellow-artists, from whom he received an expression of 
their esteem by being chosen vice-president of the na- 
tional academy of design. Immediately after his death, a 
public exhibition was given, in New York, of such of his 
paintings as could readily be collected, for the benefit of 
his widow and children. The extent of his works may 
be, in some measure, judged of from the fact, that this 
partial collection contained one hundred and twenty-seven 
paintings of various kinds." 

As an artist, Mr. Inman was distinguished by the neat- 
ness of his drawing, and the suavity and amenity of his 
style. His pencil was most happily adapted to the mixed 
class of subjects, in which portrait is combined with 
landscape or scenic compositions. His family groups, — 
but particularly those of children, — owe much of their 
peculiar charm, to the kindred character which, in every 
instance, he has contrived to infuse into the picturesque 
accompaniments of his portraits. His pi'oductions all pos- 
sess a pleasing simplicity and breadth, even when they 
are partially deficient in vigor, depth, and effect. The 
light "key," which he preferred in coloring, also imparts 
an attractive air of cheerfulness to his pictures, and seems 
peculiarly so in some of his charming delineations of 
female beauty and of childhood. 



472 kevv-york class book.— lesson cuxxi. 

Reading Lesson CCXXI. 

WILLIAM LEGGETT, 

" Eminent as a miscellaneous writer, was born in the city 
of New York, in the year 1802, and, after the necessary 
preparatory studies, was sent to the college at George- 
town, in the district of Columbia, where he acquitted him- 
self with credit, but did not stay long enough to take a 
degree. He was withdrawn from it, in consequence of 
the pecuniary embarrassments into which his father had 
fallen. 

" In 1819, he accompanied his parents to the state of 
Illinois, of which they were among the early settlers. 
Having obtained a midshipman's warrant, he returned, in 
1822, to the Atlantic states. He retired, however, from 
the navy, in 1826, on account of the arbitrary treatment to 
which he was subjected by the officer under whose com- 
mand he was placed. 

" Shortly after he left the service, he published a volume 
of occasional verses, under the title of Leisure Hours at 
Sea, and, about the same time, wrote for the Atlantic 
Souvenir, a tale, styled The Rifle, which attracted much 
attention, by the spirit and truth of its sketches of the 
manners and dialect of the western settlers, among 
whom, as has been mentioned, he had, for some years, 
resided. 

" In November, 1828, he established, in the city of New 
York, a weekly literary paper, entitled the Critic, which 
was, at the end of six months, united with the Mirror, to 
which he then became a regular contributor. The tales 
which he wrote and inserted in the Critic, were subse- 
quently collected and published, under the titles of Tales 
of a Country Schoolmaster and Sketches of the Sea. 
Most of them are possessed of a high order of merit, and 
claim for their author a prominent position among Ameri- 
can novelists. 

" In 1829, Mr. Leggett became joint-editor, with Mr. 
Bryant, of the New- York Evening Post, and in June, 
1834, by the departure of the latter for Europe, was left 
sole editor, for a time, of that journal. In October of the 
following year, he was attacked by a severe and danger- 
ous illness, which was occasioned by the intensity of his 



BIOGRAPHY.— LUCRETIA DAVIDSON 473 

labors, as a public writer, and which disabled him from 
all literary exertion, for the period of an entire year. 

" Near the close of the year 1836, he judged it expe- 
dient to retire altogether from his connection with the 
Evening Post; and he then established a weekly political 
and literary paper, under the name of the Plain De-^ler, 
in which he resumed, with great boldness and vigor, the 
discussion of the various important questions that had oc- 
cupied him before his illness. It soon obtained a large 
and increasing circulation, but was discontinued, at the 
end of ten months, in consequence of the failure of its 
publishers. After this, the decline of his health prevented 
Mr. Leggett from engaging in any other literary enter- 
prise. 

" In April, 1840, he was appointed by the president, 
Mr. Van Buren, a diplomatic agent to the republic of 
Guatemala. And he was preparing to set out for that 
country, when he died at his residence in New Rochelle, 
about nineteen miles from New York, on the 29th of 
May. 

"A collection of the Political Writings of William Leg- 
gett, selected and arranged, with a preface, by Theodore 
Sedgwick, Jr., in two volumes, was published shortly after 
his decease." 

Reading Lesson CCXXII. 

LUCRETIA MARIA DAVIDSON, 

Was born at Plattsburg, on the 27th of December, 1808. 
" Her father. Dr. Oliver Davidson," says Miss Sedgwick, 
in her beautiful memoir of Lucretia, " was a lover of 
science, and a man of intellectual tastes. Her mother, 
Margaret Davidson, (born Miller,) was of a most respect- 
able family, and received the best education her times 
afforded, at the school of the celebrated Scottish lady, 
Isabella Graham, — an institution in the city of New 
York, that had no rival in its day." 

Such was the origin of one of the most brilliant orna- 
ments in the intellectual diadem of our state, whose 
name has been wafted over the whole land, and beyond 
the ocean, as one of the most touching instances that the 
present century has produced, of the too frequent union 
of premature genius and early decline. 



474 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCXXII. 

To the youth of New York, the names of Lucretia and 
her sister Margaret, possess a peculiar charm, as realiz- 
ing, amid the scenes of their native state, the ideal of 
living genius, springing up in the seclusion of our western 
scenery, and attaining a beauty and perfection of develop- 
ment, which have called forth the admiration of the world. 

" The family of Miss Davidson," continues Miss Sedg- 
wick, " lived in seclusion. Their pleasures and excite- 
ments were intellectual. Her mother had suffered, year 
after year, from ill health and debility ; and being a per- 
son of imaginative character, and most ardent and sus- 
ceptible feelings, employed on domestic incidents, and 
concentrated in maternal tenderness, she naturally loved 
and cherished her daughter's marvellous gifts, and added 
to the intensity of the fire with which her genius and her 
affections, mingling in one holy flame, burned, till they 
consumed their mortal investments." 

At the early age of four or five years, Lucretia gave 
decided indications of the bent of her mind, and the 
poetic tinge of her genius, in her infantile attempts at 
verse. Of these, however, she was by no means vain, 
but, on the contrary, shrunk, with the most sensitive 
delicacy, from having them shown, even to the other 
members of her family. 

Her first school years were spent at the Plattsburg 
academy, and commenced as early as the period just 
mentioned. So earnest was her devotion to learning, 
that, at that early age, her mother had to restrain her 
application, and tried, though with little success, to divert 
her attention by needle-work. 

At the age of twelve, having, on one occasion, accom- 
panied her father to the celebration of Washington's birth- 
night, her susceptible spirit drank in a characteristic depth 
and fulness of poetic impression from the mingled in- 
fluence of the scene and her previous reading. The 
result was a beautiful effusion, which, to her mother, 
proved so clearly the destination of her child, as to in- 
duce her to sanction Lucretia's secret cultivation of her 
poetic gifts. 

The remarkable beauty of the scene amid which it 
was Lucretia's happiness to spend the years of her child- 
hood, was a perpetual source of inspiration to her genius; 
and many of her juvenile impressions, as uttered in her 



BIOGRAPHY.— LUCRETIA DAVIDSON. 475 

fugitive pieces, at that period, while they betray no 
straining after effect, possess an uncommon depth and 
serenity, blended with the most delicate perceptions of 
natural beauty, — the rarest and sui'est indications of 
genuine power. 

Her impressions of nature, however, were by no means 
of that vague and indefinite character, which is so easily 
invested in generalized terms, that " play around the 
head, but never reach the heart," Her study of nature 
was intimate -and individual, as the following touching 
and natural incident will evince. 

" Indulgent as Mrs. Davidson was, she was too wise to 
permit Lucretia to forego, entirely, the customary em- 
ployments of her sex. When nominally engaged with 
these, it seems she sometimes played truant with the 
muse. Once, she had promised to do a sewing task, and 
had eagerly run off for her work-basket : she loitered ; 
and, when she returned, she found her mother had done 
the work, and that there was a shade of just displeasure 
on her countenance. ' Oh ! mamma,' she said, ' I did 
forget : I am grieved ; I did not mean to neglect you.' 
' Where have you been, Lucretia V ' I have been writ- 
ing,' she replied, confused ; ' as I passed the window, I 
saw a solitary sweet pea : I thought they were all gone ; 
this was alone ; I ran to smell it ; but, before I could 
reach it, a gust of wind broke the stem ; I turned away 
disappointed, and was coming back to you ; but as I 
passed the table, there stood the inkstand and I forgot 
you.' If our readers will turn to her printed poems, and 
read the Last Flower of the Garden, they will not wonder 
that her mother kissed her, and bade her never resist a 
eimilar impulse." 

Reading Lesson CCXXIII. 

Life of Lucretia Davidson, continued. 

Lucretia's habits, in relation to her moods of compo- 
sition, form an interesting page in Miss Sedgwick's 
memoir. 

" When composing her long and complicated poems, 
like Amir Khan, she required entire seclusion. If her 
pieces were seen in the process of production, the spell 
was dissolved, she could not finish them ; and they were 



476 NEW-TOKK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXXIII. 

cast aside as rubbish. When writing a poem of con- 
siderable length, she retired to her own apartment, 
closed the blinds, and, in warm weather, placed her 
aeolian harp in the window. 

" Her mother has described her on one of these occa- 
sions, when an artist would have painted her as a young 
genius communing with her muse. We quote her mother's 
graphic description : 'I entered the room — she was sitting 
with scarcely light enough to discern the characters she 
was tracing; her harp was in the window, touched by a 
breeze just sufficient to rouse the spirit of harmony ; her 
comb had fallen on the floor; and her long dark ringlets 
hung, in rich profusion, over her neck and shoulders ; 
her cheek glowed with animation, her lips were half un- 
closed, her full dark eye was radiant with the light of 
genius, and beaming with sensibility, her head rested on 
her left hand, while she held her pen in her right; — she; 
looked like the inhabitant of another sphere. She was 
so wholly absorbed, that she did not observe my entrance. 
I looked over her shoulder, and read the following lines : 

" What heavenly music strikes my ravished ear, 
So soft, so melancholy, and so clear ? 
And do the tuneful nine then touch the lyre, 
To fill each bosom w^ith poetic fire ? 
Or does some angel strike the sounding strings. 
Who caught from echo the wild note he sings? 
But ah ! another strain, how sweet! how wild! 
Now rushing low, 'tis soothing, soft, and mild." 

"* The noise I made, in leaving the room, roused her; 
and she soon after brought me her Lines to an vEolian 
Harp.' " 

Like all other children of song, Lucretia Davidson 
had a soul peculiarly susceptible to the eftects of genuine 
art. Wlien, in her fourteenth year, she visited Canada, 
for the restoration of her health, which had been impaired 
by study, she there took great delight in the effect ex- 
erted over her youthful imagination by the catholic ser- 
vice, aided by the grandeur of cathedral architecture. Her 
pencil sketches, at this age, attracted great admiration. 

The force of character which this feebly organized girl 
possessed, was strikingly evinced at this period, by the 
sternness of her self-denying resolution to throw aside 
wholly her books and pen, during a long illness of her 
mother's, and devote herself to the duties of nurse, for 



I 



BIOGRAPHY.-LUCRETIA DAVIDSON. 477 

both her mother and infant sister. To these new auties 
were unexpectedly added those of housekeeping, which 
were suddenly and unavoidably devolved on her. The 
heroic spirit of Lucretia bore up, with great firmness, 
amid these disadvantages and hindrances to intellectual 
progress, which, to one constituted as she was, and possess- 
ing such a thirst for acquisition, were severely trying. The 
victory over self was not, in this instance, gained without 
many struggles against the depression and despondency 
arising from the utter absence of wonted incitement and 
mental activity. 

Readog Lesson CCXXIV. 

Life of Lucretia Davidson, continued. 

■ An important event in the brief life of this fragile being, 
was her leaving home in December, 1824, to attend the 
Troy female seminary, then under the care of Mrs. Wil- 
lard. The excitement of the new scene, however, was too 
much for her constitution. Illness, more serious than she 
made known to others, reduced her strength, and de- 
pressed her spirits. 

She struggled, however, to sustain herself; feeling anx- 
ious to meet the expectations of the kind friend who had 
furnished her with this opportunity of intellectual advance- 
ment ; and, although extremely solicitous in relation to 
her appearance at the closing examination of the school, 
and shrinking from the publicity of the scene, she bore 
up against a serious attack of illness, with the utmost 
fortitude, and acquitted herself with distinguished appro- 
bation. 

On her return from the house of a relative, with whose 
family she had spent the vacation of the seminary, her 
courage and presence of mind were most unexpectedly 
called forth. On this occasion her native energy of soul 
and serenity of mind, were strikingly evinced. She thus 
describes, in a letter to her mother, the occurrence to 
which we refer. 

" Uncle went to the ferry with me," she says, " where 
we met Mr. Paris. Uncle placed me under his care; and, 
snugly seated by his side, I expected a very pleasant ride 
with a very pleasant gentleman. All zcas pleasant, ex- 
cept that we expected, every instant, that all the ice 'in 



478 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCXXIV. 

the Hudson would come drifting against us, and shut in 
scow, stage, and all, or sink us to the bottom, which, in 
either case, you know, mother, would not have been quite 
so agreeable. 

" We had just pushed from the shore, I watching the 
ice with anxious eyes, when, lo ! the two leaders made a 
tremendous plunge, and tumbled headlong into the river. 
I felt tho carriage following fast after ; the other two 
horses pulled back with all their power ; but the leaders 
were dragging them down, dashing and plunging, and 
flouncing in the water. 

" ' Mr. Paris, in mercy let us get out,' said I, But, as 
he did not see the horses, he felt no alarm. The moment 
I informed him they were overboard, he opened the door, 
and cried, ' Get out, and save yourself, if possible. I am' 
old and stiff; but I will follow in an instant.' 

" ' Out with the lady ! let the lady out !' shouted several 
voices at once ; ' the other horses are about to plunge, 
and then all will be over.' 

" I made a lighter spring than many a lady does in a i 
cotillion, and jumped upon a cake of ice. Mr. Paris fol- 
lowed ; and we stood, (I trembling like a leaf,) expecting, 
every instant, that the next plunge of the drowning horses 
would detach the piece of ice upon which we were stand- 
ing, and send us adrift. But, thank Heaven ! after work- 
ing, for ten or fifteen minutes, by dint of ropes, and cutting ' 
them away fiom the other horses, they dragged the poor 
creatures out, more dead than alive." 

In the spring vacation, Lucretia returned to her home, 
evidently much impaiied in health. For change of air, a 
journey to Albany was deemed advisable ; and here she 
entered the school of Miss Gilbert, where she soon re- 
sumed study, with all her wonted ardor; and intense ap- 
plication, combined with the slow but sure progress of 
her constitutional malady, soon brought her low. Her 
letters home, at this period, betrayed so plainly her sink- 
ing condition, that her mother came to Albany, for the 
purpose of accompanying her home. 

The journey was not performed without difficulty; and 
even the tranquillity and the cheerfulness of home proved 
insufficient to effect any substantial improvement in her 
health. She had the happiness, however, before her death, 
of an intei-view with the almost paternal friend who had 



BIOGRAPHY.— LUCRETIA DAVIDSON. 479 

hoped to witness and to aid the full development of her 
genius ; and she was able to tranquillize and console the 
minds of her relatives, by the calm and truly christian 
spirit with which she anticipated her decease. She dit?d 
in her seventeenth year, on the 27th of August, 1825.- 

Reading Lesson CCXXV. 

Life of Lucretia Davidson, continued. 

The life of Lucretia Davidson, by Miss Sedgwick, was 
preceded by a biographical sketch from the pen of pro- 
fessor Morse, prefixed to an eai'lier edition of her Amir 
Khan and other poems, from which we derive the follow- 
ing enumei-ation of her works. " Her poetical writings, 
which have been collected, amount, in all, to two hundred 
and seventy-eight pieces of various lengths. When it is 
considered, that there are among these at least five regu- 
lar poems, of several cantos each, some estimate may be 
formed of her poetical labors. Besides these were twenty- 
four school exercises, three unfinished romances, a com- 
plete tragedy, written at thirteen years of age, and about 
forty letters, in a few months, to her mother alone." " This 
statement," says Miss Sedgwick, " does not comprise the 
large proportion, — at least one-third of the whole, — which 
she destroyed. 

" The genius of Lucretia Davidson has had the meed 
of far more authoritative praise than ours. The following 
tribute is from the London Quarterly Review ; a source 
whence praise of American productions is as rare as 
springs in the desert. The notice is by Mr. Southey, 
and is written with the earnest feeling that characterizes 
that author, as generous as he is discriminating. ' In 
these poems, (Amir Khan, &c.) there is enough of origi- 
nality, enough of aspiration, enough of conscious eneigy, 
enough of growing power, to warrant any expectations, 
however sanguine, which the patrons, and the friends and 
parents of the deceased, could have formed.' 

" But, prodigious as the genius of this young creature 
was, — still marvellous, after all the abatements that may 
be made for precociousness and morbid development, — 
there is something yet more captivating in her moral 
loveliness. Her modesty was not the infusion of another 
mind, not the result of cultivation, not the effect of good 



480 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK— LESSON CCXXVI. 

taste ; nor was it a veil cautiously assumed and gracefully 
worn ; but an innate quality, that made her shrink from 
incense, even though the censer were sanctified by love. 
Her mind was like the exquisite mirror, that cannot be 
stained by human breath." 

The following are some brief specimens of the early 
poetic effusions of this wonderful child. The limits of a 
W(jrk such as ours, preclude the introduction of length- 
ened extracts. 

" THE LAST FLOWER OF THE GARDEN." 

(Written in her thirteenth year.) 

" The last flower of the garden was blooming alone, 
The last rays of the sun on its blushing leaves shone ; 
Still a glittering drop on its bosom reclined, 
And a few halt-blown buds 'midst its leaves were entwined. 

" Say, lonely one, say, why lingerest thou here ? 
And why on thy bosom reclines the bright tear 7 
'Tis the tear of a zephyr, — for summer 'twas shed. 
And for all thy companions now withered and dead. 

" Why lingerest thou here, when around thee are strown 
The flowers once so lovely, by autumn gust blown ? 
Say, why, sweetest floweret, the last of thy race. 
Why lingerest thou here, the lone garden to grace ? 

" As I spoke, a rough blast, sent by Winter's own hand, 
Whistled by me, and bent its sweet head to the sand ; 
I hastened to raise it ; — the dew-drop had fled, 
And the once lovely flower was withered and dead." 

Reading Lesson CCXXVI. 

Extracts from the ivories of Lucretia Davidson, continued. 

"TO MY MOTHER." 

(Written in her sixteenth year.) 

" O thou whose care sustained my infant years. 
And taught my prattling lip each note of love ; 
Whose soothing voice breathed comfort to my fears. 
And round my brow hope's brightest garland wove ; — 

" To thee my lay is due, the simple song. 

Which Nature gave me at life's opening day ; 

To thee these rude, these untaught strains belong, 

Whose heart indulgent will not spurn my lay. 

" Oh ! say, amid this wilderness of life, 

What bosom would have throbbed like thine for me ? 
Who would have smiled responsive ? — who, in grief. 
Would e'er have felt, and feeling, grieved like thee 7 



BIOGRAPHY.— LUCRETIA DAVIDSON. 481 

" Who would have guarded, with a falcon eye, 
Each trembling footstep or each sport of fear 1 
Who would have marked my bosom bounding high, 
And clasped me to her heart, with love's bright tear ? 

" Who would have himg around my sleepless couch, 
And fanned, with anxious hand, my burning brow ? 
Who would have fondly pressed my fevered lip, 
In all the agony of love and woe ? 

" None but a mother, — none but one like thee, 

Whose bloom has faded in the midnight watch ; 
Whose eye, for me, has lost its witchery. 
Whose form has felt disease's mildew touch. 

" Yes, thou hast lighted me to health and life. 
By the bright lustre of thy youthful bloom ; — 
Yes, thou hast wept so oft o'er every grief. 

That woe hath traced thy brow vrith marks of gloom. 

" Oh ! then, to thee, this rude and simple song. 

Which breathes of thankfulness and love for thee, 
To thee, my mother, shall this lay belong. 
Whose life is spent in toil and care for me." 

" MODESTY." 

(Written in her sixteenth year.) 

" There is a sweet, though humble flower, 
Which grows in nature's wildest bed ; 
It blossoms in the lonely bower. 

But withers 'neath the gazer's tread. 

" 'Tis reared alone, far, far away 

From the wild noxious weeds of death ; 
Around its brow the simbeams play, 
The evening dew-drop is its wreath. 

" 'Tis Modesty; 'tis nature's chUd; 

The loveliest, sweetest, meekest flower 
That ever blossomed in the wUd, 

Or trembled 'neath the evening shower. 

" 'Tis Modesty ; so pure, so fair. 

That woman's witcheries lovelier grow, 
When that sweet flower is blooming there. 
The brightest beauty of her brow." 

" MY LAST FAREWELL TO MY HARP." 

" And must we part ? — yes, part for ever ; ^ 

I'll waken thee again — ^no, never : 
Silence shall chain thee, cold and drear, 
And thou shalt calmly slumber here. 
Unhallowed was the eye that gazed 
Upon the lamp that brightly blazed,— 



482 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCXXVII. 

The lamp which never can expii-e, 

The undying, wild, poetic fire. 

And oh ! nnhallowed was the tongue 

Wliich boldly and uncouthly sung; 

I blessed the hour when o'er my soul, 

Thy magic numbers gently stole, 

And o'er it threw those heavenly sti-ains 

Which since have bound my heart in chains ; 

Those wild, those witching numbers still 

Will o'er my widowed bosom steal. 

I blessed that hour, but O my heart. 

Thou and thy lyre must part ; — yes, pai"t ; 

And this shall be my last farewell, 

This my sad bosom's latest knell. 

And here, my harp, we part for ever ; 

I'll wakeu thee again, — oh ! never : 

Silence shall chain thee, cold and drear. 

And thou shalt calmly slumber here." 

Reading Lesson CCXXVII. 

WILLIS GAYLORD CLARKE, 

"Was born at the town of Otisco, in Onondaga county, in 
the year 1810. His father had served, with credit, in the 
war of the revolution, and was a man of considerable cul- 
tivation of mind. This qualified him, with the aid of the 
Rev. George Colton, a relative of the family, to superin- 
tend, with advantage, the education of his son, and to lay a 
judicious foundation for the future acquirements of the 
latter. 

" The poetic inclinations of Willis Clarke were mani- 
fested at a very early age ; and his descriptions of his 
native scenery, were distinguished for their distinctness 
and force ; as was his versification, for the ease and har- 
mony with which it flowed. It was not long, too, before 
he added to these qualities that tone of gentle and even 
melancholy solemnity, for which his poetic effusions are, 
in general, so remarkable. 

" Mr. Clarke came to the city of Philadelphia, when 
about twenty years old, and was induced to commence 
there a weekly literary journal, similar in its character to 
the New-York Mirror. But becoming satisfied that there 
was little probability of the profits of the undertaking 
proving an adequate compensation for the labor applied, 
he abandoned it, after a short period. 

" He next engaged, in conjunction with the Rev. Dr. 
Brantley, afterwards president of Beaufort college, South 



BIOGRAPHY.— MARGARET DAVIDSON. 483 

Carolina, in editing the Columbian Star, a religious and 
literary journal, published weekly. He inserted in it 
many poetic pieces of his own, of a high order of merit. 
Some of them were subsequently collected, and printed, 
in a small volume, with a poem of considerable length, 
under the title of the Spirit of Life. 

" Mr. Clarke's connection with the Columbian Star was 
dissolved, on his assuming the editorship of the Philadel- 
phia Gazette, one of the oldest and most respectable daily 
political papers of the city. After some time, he became 
its proprietor; and he conducted it till his death, with 
diligence and ability, and with a uniform observance, even 
in his animadversions on the sentiments and conduct of 
those from whom he most differed, of the courtesies proper 
to the character of a christian gentleman. 

" Besides his writings in the journals of which he was 
the editor, Mr. Clarke contributed, also, during many 
years, to the magazines and annuals of his own country, 
and occasionally also to some of the English periodicals. 

" An eminent English author, now living, after having 
spoken of Mr. Clarke's poems in high terms, characterized 
him as one * who has an enviable genius, to be excited in 
a new and unexhausted country, and a glorious career 
before him, where, in manners, scenery, and morals, 
hitherto undescribed and unexhausted, he can find wells 
where he may be the first to drink.' 

*' ' As a prose writer,' says the author of an article in 
the American Quarterly Review, ' Mr. Clarke possesses 
a rare combination of dissimilar qualities. At times, elo- 
quent, vehement, and impassioned, pouring out his thoughts 
in a fervent tide of strong and stirring language, he sweeps 
the feelings of his readers along with him; and, at others, 
playful, jocular, and buoyant, he dallies with his subject, 
and mingles mirth and argument, drollery and gravity, so 
oddly, yet so aptly, that the effect is irresistible.' 

" Mr. Clarke died, much regretted, in 1841." 

Reading Lesson CCXXVIIL 

MARGARET MILLER DAVIDSON, 

The youngest sister of Lucretia, — of whose life we have 
given a brief sketch, on a preceding page, — was bom at 
Plattsburgh, on the 26th of March, 1823. 



484 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCXXVIII. 

In her constitution, both of body and mind, and in her 
early death, she resembled her gifted sister. Her life was 
a succession of alternate depression and exaltation, as her 
organic condition or her poetic inspirations preponderated. 
But, in whatever state of bodily or mental influence the 
fleeting days of her brief life were passed, she appears the 
same noble, devoted, amiable being ; living in an atmo- 
sphere of almost celestial purity, truth, and love. The 
aspirations of her soul were all directed to a perfection 
of beauty and power which can never be realized on 
earth ; and, her early transit to a higher sphere of being, 
seems to have been but the appropriate consummation of 
such a life as she daily led. 

From the beautiful record of her life, by Washington 
Irving, which is prefixed to a collection of her works, we 
derive an impression of the effect produced on Margaret's 
mind, by her sister's character and death. 

" Margaret, from the first dawnings of intellect, gave 
evidence of being no common child : her ideas and ex- 
pressions were not like those of other children, and often 
startled by their precocity. Her sister's death had made 
a strong impression on her; and, though so extremely 
young, she already understood and appreciated Lucretia's 
character. An evidence of this, and of the singular pre- 
cocity of thought and expression just noticed, occurred 
but a few months afterwards. As Mrs. Davidson was 
seated, at twilight, conversing with a female friend, Mar- 
garet entered the room with a light elastic step, for which 
she was remarkable. 

" ' That child never walks,' said the lady ; then turning 
to her, ' Margaret, where are you flying now V said she. 

*" To heaven!' replied she, pointing up with her fin- 
ger, ' to meet my sister Lucretia, when I get my new 
wings.' 

" * Your new wings ! When will you get them V 

" ' Oh ! soon, very soon ; and then I shall fly !' 

" ' She loved,' says her mother, ' to sit, hour after hour, 
on a cushion at my feet ; her little arms resting upon my 
lap, and her full dark eyes fixed upon mine ; listening to 
anecdotes of her sister's life, and details of the events 
which preceded her death ; often exclaiming, while her 
face beamed with mingled emotions, ' Oh ! mamma, I will 
try to fill her place ! Oh ! teach me to be like her !' " 



BIOGRAPIIY.-MARGARET DAVIDSON. 485 

The early education of Margaret, was, witli the excep- 
tion of her fifth year, which was spent in Canada, con- 
ducted by her mother, at home, with a view to avoid the 
evils likely to arise from the excitements of a school life, 
on a temperament so peculiarly susceptible as hers. But 
the mother's own genius and tendencies were so decidedly 
of a poetic character, that her influence as an instructress, 
was necessarily such as to foster every trait of that de- 
scription, in the dawning mind of her daughter. 

To the poetic influence of her mother's spirit was added 
that of the beautiful scenery in which she lived. She 
gives us, in one of her»own juvenile tales, the following 
sketch of her birth-place. 

" There stood, on the banks of the Saranac, a small 
neat cottage, which peeped forth from the surrounding 
foliage, the image of rural quiet and contentment. An 
old-fashioned piazza extended along the front, shaded with 
vines and honeysuckles ; the turf, on the bank of the river, 
was of the richest and brightest emerald ; and the wild, 
rose and sweet brier, which twined over the neat enclo- 
sure, seemed to bloom with more delicate freshness and 
perfume, within the bounds of this earthly paradise. The 
scenery around was wildly, yet beautifully romantic ; the 
clear, blue river, glancing and sparkling at its feet, seemed 
only as a preparation for another and more magnificent 
view, when the stream, gliding on to the west, was buried 
in the broad white bosom of Champlain, which stretched 
back, wave after wave, in the distance, until lost in faint 
blue mists, that veiled the sides of its guardian mountains, 
seeming more lovely from their indistinctness." 

"Such," says Mr. Irving, " wei'e the natural scenes 
which presented themselves to her dawning perceptions ; 
and she is said to have evinced, from her earliest child- 
hood, a remarkable sensibility to their charms. A beau- 
tiful tree, or shj-ub, or flower, would fill her with delight ; 
she would note, with surprising discrimination, the various 
effects of the weather, upon the surrounding landscape ; 
the mountains wrapped in clouds ; the torrents roaring 
down their sides in time of tempest ; the ' bright, warm 
sunshine,' the 'cooling showers,' the 'pale, cold moon;' 
for such was, already, her poetical phraseology. A bright 
starlight night, also, would seem to awaken a mysterious 
rapture in her infant bosom ; and one of her early expres- 



486 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXXVm. 

sions, in speaking of the stars, was, that they 'shone like 
the eyes of angels.' 

" One of the most beautiful parts of the maternal in- 
struction was in guiding these kindling perceptions from 
nature up to nature's God." 

" I cannot say," observes her mother, " at what age her 
religious impressions were imbibed. They seemed to be 
interwoven with her existence. From the very first exer- 
cise of reason, she evinced strong devotional feelings; 
and, although she loved play, she would, at any time, pre- 
fer seating herself beside me, and, with every faculty ab- 
sorbed in the subject, listen while I attempted to recount 
the wonders of Providence, and point out the wisdom 
and benevolence of God, as manifested in the works of 
creation. Her young heart would swell with rapture, 
and the tear would tremble in her eye, when I explained 
to her, that He who clothed the trees with verdure, and 
gave the rose its bloom, had also created her with capaci- 
ties to enjoy their beauties ; that the same power which 
clothed the mountains with sublimity, made her happiness 
his daily care. Thus a sentiment of gratitude and affec- 
tion towards the Creator, entered into all her emotions 
of delight, at the wonders and beauties of creation." 

Mr. Irving says, " there is nothing more truly poetical 
than religion, when properly inculcated, and it will be 
found that this early piety, thus amiably instilled, had the 
happiest effect upon her, throughout life ; elevating and 
ennobling her genius ; lifting her above everything gross 
and sordid ; attuning her thoughts to pure and lofty 
themes ; heightening rather than impairing her enjoy- 
ments, and, at all times, giving an ethereal lightness to 
her spirits. To use her mother's words, ' she was like a 
bird on the wing, her fairy form scarcely seemed to touch 
the earth as she passed.' She was, at times, in a kind of 
ecstasy from the excitement of her imagination, and the 
exuberance of her pleasurable sensations. In such moods, 
every object of natural beauty inspired a degree of rap- 
ture, always mingled with a feeling of gratitude to the 
Being ' who had made so many beautiful things for her.' 
In such moods, too, her little heart would overflow with 
love to all around ; ' indeed,' adds her mother, * to love and 
be beloved was necessary to her existence.' Private 
prayer became a habit with her, at a very early age ; it 



BIOGRAPHY.-MARGARET DAVmSON. 487 

was almost a spontaneous expression of her feelings, the 
breathings of an affectionate and delighted heart." 

Reading Lesson CCXXIX. 
Life of Margaret Davidson, continued. 

" By the time she was six years old," says Mrs. David- 
son, " her language assumed an elevated tone ; and her 
mind seemed filled with poetic imagery, blended with 
veins of religious thought. At this period, I was chiefly 
confined to my room, by debility. She was my compan- 
ion and fi-iend ; and, as the greater pait of my time was 
devoted to her instruction, she advanced rapidly in her 
studies. She read not only well, but elegantly. Her love 
of reading amounted almost to a passion ; and her intelli- 
gence surpassed belief. Strangers viewed with astonish- 
ment a child little more than six years old, reading, with 
enthusiastic delight, Thomson's Seasons, the Pleasures of 
Hope, Cowper's Task, the writings of Milton, Byron, and 
Scott, and marking, with taste and discrimination, the 
passages which struck her. The sacred writings were 
her daily studies ; with her little Bible on her lap, she 
usually seated herself near me, and there read a chapter 
from the holy volume. This was a duty which she was 
taught not to perform lightly ; and we have frequently 
spent two hours in reading and remarking upon the con- 
tents of a chapter." 

The family talent of facility in versification, was evinced 
in Margaret's early childhood, to an extent which, to stran- 
gers, seemed incredible. She possessed, also, even at that 
period, an expertness in weaving the fabric of a story, 
which would enchain her hearers for hours. Into these 
manifestations of mental power she was drawn uncon- 
sciously, by sympathetic interest, and never indulged in 
them for the purpose of display. 

The plan of education, pursued by her mother, seems 
to have been regulated with great care, so as to avoid the 
effects of undue mental exertion. But a spirit like hers 
cannot easily be restrained, when the field of acquisition 
is once opened to its view: the pleasures of expanding 
knowledge and conscious advancement, are too fascinat- 
ing to be withstood, and the onward impulse too strong 
to be resisted. 



488 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXXIX. 

" At the age of between six and seven, she entered upon 
a course of Enghsh grammar, geography, history, and 
rhetoric, still under the direction and superintendence of 
her mother; but such was her ardor of application, that 
it was necessary to keep her in check, lest a too intense 
pursuit of knowledge should impair her delicate constitu- 
tion. She was not required to commit her lessons to 
memory, but to give the substance of them in her own 
language, and to explain their purport ; thus she learned 
nothing by rote, but everything understandingly, and soon 
acquired a knowledge of the rudiments of English edu- 
cation. The morning lessons completed, the rest of the 
day was devoted to recreation ; occasionally sporting and 
gathering wild flowers on the banks of the Saranac ; 
though the extreme delicacy of her constitution prevented 
her taking as much exercise as her mother could have 
wished." 

An event, of great interest to Margaret, occurred in 
1830, in the visit of an English gentleman to Plattsburgh, 
who had read the memoir and the works of her sister, ' 
and who had come to visit the scene which her genius 
had consecrated. Margaret was, then, but seven years 
old. The interest excited in her, however, by the affable 
and sympathetic spirit of the visitor, was deep and per- 
manent, and formed one of her most vivid and pleasing 
remembrances in after life. 

The delicate state of health which had already become 
habitual with her, now rendered it advisable to resort to 
Saratoga Springs ; and, subsequently, she accompanied her 
parents on a visit to the city of New York, where she 
entered, with intense delight, into the numerous sources 
of mental excitement with which the scene abounded. 
Here, too, she enjoyed the unexpected pleasure of the 
society of her English friend, in whose company she once 
enjoyed the realization of that world of romance which is 
opened to the young mind in dramatic representation ; 
but which, to a susceptible nature like hers, forms an 
epoch in the mental history of the individual. 

The change of air and scene, and the suspension of 
her accustomed intellectual application, had the best effect 
on Margaret's health and spirits. She seemed to have 
imbibed a new life ; and the good influence continued 
during spring and summer. But, with the return of 



BIOGRAPIIY.-MARGARET DAVIDSON. 489 

autumn, hei' vigor began, once more, to subside. Her 
mother resolved, therefore, on a visit to Canada, as 
a relief from the effects of the damp air of lake Cham- 
plain. 

The change of atmosphere produced the happiest 
effects ; and her devoted mother, — though suffering from 
extreme weakness, being herself an habitual invalid, and, 
at the time, unusually low in health, — continued to super- 
intend her daughter's progress in education. Margaret, 
whose health was much benefited by the drier weather 
of Canada, repaid her mother's care by the most assidu- 
ous attentions of filial love. 

An attack of scarlet fever, in January, 1833, while she 
was still in Canada, reduced her strength to the lowest 
ebb; and a journey to the city of New York was recom- 
mended ; her mother having, at length, recovered a de- 
gree of health. The change of scene was beneficial; and 
the mental impulse arising from novel and diversified ob- 
jects, exerted its usual effect on Margaret's susceptible 
spirit. She kept a journal of her daily observations ; and, 
in her record of interesting events, occurs a visit to Black 
Hawk and his colleagues, who were, at the time, passing 
through New York, on their tour, as prisoners of war. 

Margaret was, at this time, a source of peculiar pleas- 
ure to her friends in New York, by the activity of her 
mind and the buoyancy of her spirits. One of her 
juvenile effbrts, in the form of dramatic writing, was 
brought out, during this visit, for the amusement of her 
young playmates, who performed the piece under her 
direction. 

The stay of Mrs. Davidson and her daughter in New 
York, was protracted till autumn ; and it was then deemed 
unsafe for the invalids to encounter the moist and chilling 
air of the lake around their home. A change of residence 
to Ballston was, greatly to Margaret's regret, decided on, 
as most favorable. Her touching and beautiful farewell 
to her native scene, written on this occasion, shows how 
largely she had already partaken of " the fatal gift of 
song." The piece is a genuine reflection of herself, — 
simple, natural, and tender, — revealing the beauty and 
truth that slumljer in the heart of unperverted childhood, 
ever ready to be called forth by the touch of circum- 
stance. 



490 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK— LESSON CCXXX 

" MY NATIVE LAKE." 

'' Thy verdant banks, thy lucid stream, 
Lit by the sun's resplendent beam, 
Reflect each bending tree so light 
Upon thy bounding bosom bright : — 
Could I but see thee once again, 
My own, my beautiful Champlain ! 

' The little isles that deck thy breast, 
And calmly on thy bosom rest. 
How often, in my childish glee, 
I've sported round them, bright and free : — 
Could I but see thee once again, 
My own, my beautiful Champlain! 

* How oft I've watched the freshening shower, 
Bending the summer tree and flower, 
And felt my little heart beat high 
As the bright rainbow gi-aced the sky ! 
Could I but see thee once again, 
My own, my beautiful Champlain ! 

" And shall I never see thee more, 
My native lake, my much-loved shore ? 
And must I bid a long adieu, 
My dear, my infant home, to you ? 
Shall I not see thee once again. 
My own, my beautiful Champlain?" 

Reading Lesson CCXXX. 

Life of Margaret Davidson, continued. 

To direct aright the education of such a child, was 
assuredly no easy task. To check her application was 
to dispirit and distress her : to incite her to mental action 
was to incur serious danger. 

" As the powers," says Mr. Irving, " of this excitable 
and imaginative little being developed themselves, Mrs. 
Davidson felt more and more conscious of the responsi- 
bility of undertaking to cultivate and direct them ; yet to 
whom could she confide her, that would so well under- 
stand her character and constitution ] To place her in a 
boarding-school would subject her to increased excite- 
ment, caused by emulation ; and her mind was already 
too excitable for her fragile frame. Her peculiar tem- 
perament required peculiar culture ; it must neither be 
stimulated nor checked ; and, while her imagination was 
left to its free soarings, care must be taken to strengthen 
her judgment, improve her mind, establish her principles, 



BIOGRAPHY.— MARGARET DAVmSON. 491 

and inculcate habits of self-examination and self-control. 
All this, it was thought, might best be accomplished under 
a mother's eye ; it was resolved, therefore, that her edu- 
cation should, as before, be conducted entirely at home. 
* Thus, she continued,' to use her mother's words, ' to 
live in the bosom of affection, where every thought and 
feeling was reciprocated. I strove to draw out the powers 
of her mind by conversation and familiar remarks upon 
subjects of daily study and reflection, and taught her the 
necessity of bringing all her thoughts, desires, and feel- 
ings, under the dominion of reason ; to understand the 
importance of self-control, when she found her inclina- 
tions were at war with its dictates. To fulfil all her 
duties from a conviction of right, because they were 
duties ; and to find her happiness in the consciousness 
of her own integrity, and the approbation of God. How 
delightful was the task of instructing a mind like hers ! 
She seized, with avidity upon every new idea ; for the 
instruction proceeded from lips of love. Often would 
she exclaim, " Oh ! mamma ! how glad I am that you 
are not too ill to teach me ! Surely I am the happiest 
girl in the world !" She had read much, for a child of 
little more than ten years of age. She was well versed 
in both ancient and modern history, (that is to say, in 
the courses generally prescribed for the use of schools;) 
Blair, Kaimes, and Paley, had formed part of her studies. 
She was familiar with most of the British poets. Her 
command of the English language was remarkable, both 
in conversation and writing. She had learned the rudi- 
ments of French, and was anxious to become perfect in 
the language ; but I had so neglected my duty in this 
respect, after I left school, that I was not qualified to in- 
struct her. A friends however, who understood French, 
called occasionally, and gave her lessons for his own 
amusement; she soon translated well ; and such was her 
talent for the acquisition of languages, and such her de- 
sire to read everything in tlie original, that every obstacle 
vanished before her perseverance. She made some ad- 
vances in Latin, also, in company with her brother, who 
was attended by a private teacher ; and they were en- 
gaged upon the early books of Virgil, when her health 
again gave way, and she w^as confined to her room by 
severe illness. These fretpient attacks upon a frame so 



492 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CCXXX. 

delicate, awakened all our fears. Her illness spread a 
gloom throughout our habitation ; for fears were enter- 
tained that it would end in a pulmonary consumption.' " 

On recovering from this illness, and while yet but in 
her eleventh year, she was visited with a severe affliction 
in the loss of her only surviving sister, at whose home 
she had spent so many happy hours in Canada. One of 
Margaret's most beautiful productions, was called forth by 
this melancholy event. 

To divert her mind from dwelling on the painful loss 
of her sister, she was sent, once more, on a visit to New 
York ; and her farewell, at that time, to her mother, is 
another most touching effusion of a heart hallowed by 
affection, and inspired by poetic genius. 

Margaret returned much improved in health, for a time, 
only to relapse into an illness which continued till spring. 
The reawakening of nature brought, with it, to the young 
sufferer, a yet greater intensity of mental excitement, and 
a more earnest desire for intellectual progress. A visit 
to some relatives residing on the banks of the Mohawk, 
was therefore planned, as a diversion from application ; 
and the change had its usual brief effect. 

In the autumn of 1835, Mr. Davidson removed his 
family to a beautiful spot on the East River, near to the 
Shot Tower, and about four miles distant from the city. 
The mansion and grounds were singularly poetic in 
character and associations ; their appearance even to an 
ordinary eye, was strikingly romantic. To Margaret's 
vision, they were a paradise of the imagination, realized 
on earth. 

In the month of October, she writes thus to Mr. M. 
Kent, the patron and friend of her departed sister, 
Lucretia, — one whom she used affectionately to address 
as " uncle." 

" We are now at Ruremont ; and a more delightful 
place I never saw. The house is large, pleasant, and 
commodious ; and the old-fashioned style of everything 
around it, transports the mind to days long gone by ; and 
my imagination is constantly upon the rack to burden the 
past with scenes transacted on this very spot. In the rear 
of the mansion, a lawn, spangled with beautiful flowers, 
and shaded by spreading trees, slopes gently down to the 
river-side, where vessels of every description are con- 



BIOGRAPHY.— MARGARET DAVIDSON. 493 

stantly spreading their white sails to the wind. In front, 
a long shady avenue leads to the door; and a large extent 
of beautiful undulating ground is spread with fruit-trees 
of every description. In and about the house, there are 
so many little nooks and by-places, that sometimes I fancy 
it has been the resort of smugglers ; and who knows but 
I shall yet find their hidden treasures somewhere 1 Do 
come and see us, my dear uncle ; but you must come 
soon, if you would enjoy any of the beauties of the place. 
The trees have already doffed their robe of green, and 
assumed the red and yellow of autumn ; and the paths 
are strewed with fallen leaves. But there is loveliness 
even in the decay of nature. But do, do come soon, or 
the branches will be leafless; and the cold winds will 
prevent the pleasant rambles we now enjoy." 



» 



Reading Lesson CCXXXI. 
Life of Margaret Davidson, continued. 

For a time, the health and spirits of Margaret were 
much improved by the change of residence. But, ere 
long, she began, once more, to droop. In this state of 
depression, she received fi-om her English friend an invi- 
tation for herself and her mother, to join him and his 
family at Havana, whither he had resorted for the benefit 
of a mild winter climate. This invitation, however, it was 
not deemed, at the time, advisable to accept. 

Meanwhile, the inspiration of the scene around her, 
exerted its full influence on her impressible imagination. 
The following is Mr. Irving's account of the spot. 

" The writer of this memoir visited Ruremont, at the 
time it was occupied by the Davidson family. It was a 
spacious, and somewhat crazy and poetical-looking man- 
sion, with large waste apartments. The grounds were 
rather wild and overgrown, but so much the more pic- 
turesque. It stood on the banks of the Sound, the waters 
of which rushed, with whirling and impetuous tides be- 
low, hurrying on to the dangerous strait of Hell-gate. 
Nor was this neighborhood without its legendary tales. 
These wild and lonely shores had, in former times, been 
the resort of smugglers and pirates. Hard by this very 
place stood the country retreat of Ready-money Prevost, 



494 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCXXXI. 

of dubious and smuggling memory, with his haunted 
tomb, in which he was said to conceal his contraband 
riches ; and scarce a secret spot about these shores but 
had some tradition connected with it, of Kidd the pirate 
and his buried treasures. All these circumstances were 
enough to breed thick-coming fancies in so imaginative 
a brain ; and the result was a drama in six acts, entitled 
The Smuggler, the scene of which was laid at Ruremont, 
in the old time of the province. The play was written 
with great rapidity, and, considering she was little more 
than twelve years of age, and had never visited a theatre 
but once in her life, evinced great aptness and dramatic 
talent. It was to form a domestic entertainment for 
Christmas holidays ; the spacious back parlor was to be 
fitted up for the theatre. In planning and making 
arrangements for the performance, she seemed perfectly 
happy, and her step resumed its wonted elasticity ; 
though her anxious mother often detected a sup- 
pressed cough, and remarked a hectic flush upon her 
cheek." 

To avoid the certain evils of depression and decline, 
which, it was plainly foreseen, the interruption of her 
education would cause, she was allowed to visit the city, 
a few times a week, for lessons in what are termed " the 
accomplishments" of her sex. 

The winter of this year brought a new experience to 
Margaret's heart, in the death of a young brother. Her 
feelings on this occasion, were embodied in one of her 
most exquisite productions. Her health now gave de- 
cided indications of irretrievable decline. But it was 
deemed advisable to leave her uninformed of the opinion 
of her physicians ; as she clung eagerly to life, and fought 
off every idea of premature dissolution. The delights of 
mental action and of intellectual attainment, were, to her 
nature, so intense, and her desire after a life of usefulness 
and distinction so strong, that it was long ere she could 
be reconciled to the thought of dying so young. She 
seems, however, to have received through the medium of 
those pleasing dreams by which an exalted cerebral action 
is sometimes attended, a silent intimation of her destina- 
tion to a higher happiness than the utmost expansion or 
activity of her powers could have afforded her, on earth. 
Her ecstatic effusion, entitled the Joys of Heaven, was 



BIOGRAPHY.— MARGARET DAVIDSON. 495 

written on the occasion of passing from one of these states 
of rapturous elation. 

It was during this stage of her illness that she enjoyed 
the happiness of becoming acquainted with Miss Sedg- 
wick, to whom she continued most ardently attached, and 
whose friendship was one of the genial beams that cheered 
the declining hours of her brief life. 

With the aid of skilful treatment, the strength of the 
young patient was at length rallied, and, so far restored, 
that she was able to accompany her brother on a journey 
to the western part of the state. Her Farewell to Rure- 
raont, written on this occasion, shows how deeply she had 
imbibed the spirit of the scene, and how true was the echo 
of her heart to the beauty of nature. 

On her return home, in September, she showed a de- 
gree of improvement in her health. But a change had 
evidently come over her mind, in regard to the nature of 
her malady. She was now, at last, willing to relinquish her 
mental application, and, for a time, avoided every cause 
of excitement. Six weary months she had the self-denial 
to spend in this way. But " the waste of feeling unem- 
ployed," became at length insupportable ; and she sought 
relief in the composition of her beautiful Apostrophe to 
Earth. 

The resumption of mental activity, seems to have had 
a favorable effect on the sufferer ; and, for another brief 
space, she recovered something of her tone of health. 
The change, however, was transient. A return of bleed- 
ing from the lungs, and the chilling effect of winter, soon 
combined to reduce her strength to the lowest point com- 
patible with life. Still she was unwilling to be considered 
fatally ill. Intellectual ambition was, with her, a power- 
ful principle, though never indulged in reprehensible 
forms. She looked forward, with intense desire, to the 
pleasure of intellectual distinction ; and this secret wish 
of her heart was inseparable from her sympathy with her 
sister Lucretia, whose image was so identified in her mind 
with intellectual excellence. To this state of feeling we 
owe the beautiful apostrophe to her sister. 



496 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCXXXII. 

Reading Lesson CCXXXII. 

Life of Margaret Davidson, continued. 
"TO MY SISTER LUCRETIA." 

" My sister ! With that thrilling word 

What thoughts unnumbered wildly spring! 
What echoes in my heart are stirred, 
While thus I touch the trembling string ! 

" My sister! ere this youthful mind 
Could feel the value of thine own ; 
Ere this infantine heart could bind 
In its deep cell, one look, one tone, 

" To glide along on memory's stream. 

And bring back thrilling thoughts of thee, 
Ere I knew aught but childhood's dream, 
Thy soul had struggled and was free ! 

" My sister ! with this mortal eye, 
I ne'er shall see thy form again ; 
And never shall this mortal ear 

Drink in the sweetness of thy strain ! 

" Yet fancy wild, and glowing love, 
Reveal thee to my spirit's view, 
Enwreathed with graces from above, 
And decked in heaven's owti fadeless hue. 

" Thy glance of pure seraphic light 

Sheds o'er my heart its softening ray ; 
Thy pinions guard my couch by night, 
And hover o'er my path by day. 

" I cannot weep that thou art fled, — 
For ever blends my soul with thine ; 
Each thought, by purer impulse led, 
Is soai'ing on to realms divine. 

" Thy glance imfolds my heart of hearts, 
And lays its inmost recess bare ; 
Thy voice a heavenly calm imparts, 

And soothes each wilder passion there. 

" I hear thee in the summer breeze, 
See thee in all that's pure or fair ; 
Thy whisper in the munnuriug trees, 
Thy breath, thy spirit everywhere. 

" Thine eyes, which watch when mortals sleep, 
Cast o'er my dreams a radiant hue; 
Thy tears, ' such tears as angels weep,' 
Fall nightly with the glistening dew. 

" Thy fingers wake my youthful lyre. 
And teach its softer strains to flow ; 
Thy spirit checks each vain desire. 
And gilds the loweiing brow of woe. 



BIOGRAPHY.— MARGARET DAVIDSON. 497 

" When fancy wings her upward flight 
On through the viewless realms of air, 
Clothed in its robe of matchless light, 
I view thy ransomed spirit there ! 

" Far from her wild, delusive dreams, 
It leads my raptured soul away. 
Where the pure fount of glory streams, 
And saints live on through endless day. 

" When the dim lamp of future years 

Sheds o'er my path its glimmering faint, 
First in the view thy form appears, 
My sister, and my guardian saint ! 

" Thou gem of light ! my leading star ! 
What thou hast been, I strive to be ; 
When from the path I wander far. 
Oh ! turn thy guiding beam on me. 

" Teach me to fill thy place below. 
That I may dwell -with thee above ; 
To soothe, like thee, a mother's woe. 
And prove, like thine, a sister's love. 

" Thou wert unfit to dwell with clay. 
For sin too pure, for earth too bright ! 
And death, who called thee hence away, 
Placed on his brow a gem of hght ! 

" A gem, whose brilliant glow is shed 
Beyond the ocean's swelling wave. 
Which gilds the memory of the dead. 
And pours its radiance on thy grave. 

" When day hath left his glowing car. 
And evening spreads her robe of love; 
When worlds, like travellers from afar. 
Meet in the azure fields above ; 

" When all is still, and fancy's realm 
Is opening to the eager view, 
Mine eye full oft, in search of thee. 
Roams o'er that vast expanse of blue. 

" I know that here thy harp is mute, 
And quenched the bright poetic fire, 
Yet still I bend my ear, to catch 
The hymnings of thy seraph lyre. 

" Oh ! if this partial converse no-w 
So joyous to my heart can be. 
How must the streams of rapture flow 
When both are chainless, both,are free ! 

" When borne from earth for evermore, 
Our souls in sacred joy unite, 
At God's almighty throne adore. 

And bathe in beams of endless light ! 



498 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXXXIII. 

" Away, away, ecstatic dream, 

I must not, dare not dwell on thee ; 
My soul, immersed in life's dark stream, 
Is far too earthly to be free. 

" Though heaven's bright portal were unclosed, 
And angels wooed me from on high, 
Too much I fear my shrinking soul 
Would cast on earth its longing eye. 

" Teach me to fill thy place below. 

That I may dwell with thee above ; 
To soothe, like thee, a mother's woe. 
And prove, like thine, a sister's love." 

Reading Lesson CCXXXIII. 

Life of Margaret Davidson, continued. 

In the month of May, 1837, the Davidson family re- 
moved to Ballston, where Margaret enjoyed much happi- 
ness in communicating with a family distinguished for 
intellectual attainments, whose friendship was the solace 
of her remaining life. The vicissitudes of the treacherous 
disease under which she labored, here, also, afforded her 
a few intervals of enjoyment in activity and in recreative 
exercise, amid the scenes of nature. But the reaction 
which followed these excited moments, was sometimes 
deeply depressing. Her piece entitled Aspirations, was 
a production of these vacillations of feeling. 

The impaired condition of her health did not prove an 
obstacle to her intellectual pursuits, in the form of read- 
ing ; and, during the autumn and winter seasons, she en- 
joyed many delightful hours of respite, in this form, and 
in conversation with her friends. She still found it practi- 
cable to read somewhat extensively, in history and philos- 
ophy, besides recreating her mind with the life and novels 
of Scott. 

The following extracts from her mother's memoranda, 
touch on subjects, which had now grown deeply interest- 
ing to the invalid. " Her views of the divine character 
and attributes had ever been of that elevated cast, which, 
while they raised her mind above all grosser things, sub- 
limated and purified her feelings and desires, and pre- 
pared her for that bright and holy communion, without 
which she could enjoy nothing. Her faith was of that 
character, ' which casteth out fear.' It was sweet and 



BIOGRAPHY.— MARGARET DAVIDSON. 499 

soothing to depend upon Jesus for salvation. It was de- 
lightful to behold, in the all-imposing majesty of God, a 
kind and tender father, who pitied her infirmities, and on 
whose justice and benevolence she could rest for time 
and eternity. Her meekness and humility led her some- 
times to doubt her own state. She felt that her religious 
duties were but too feebly performed, and that, without 
divine assistance, all her resolutions to be more faithful, 
were vain. She often said, ' Mamma, I am far fi'om right. 
I resolve and re-resolve, and yet remain the same.' I had 
shunned every thing that savored of controversy ; know- 
ing her enthusiasm and extreme sensibility on the subject 
of religion, I dreaded the excitement it might create. 
But I now more fully explained, as well as I was able, 
the simple and divine truths of the Gospel, and held up 
to her view the beauty and benevolence of the Father's 
character, and the unbounded love which could have de- 
vised the atoning sacrifice ; and advised her, at present, 
to avoid controversial writings, and make a more thorough 
examination of the Scriptures, that she might found her 
principles upon the evidence to be deduced from that 
groundwork of our faith, unbiassed by the opinions and 
prejudices oi any rnanP 

The care taken to preserve a summer atmosphere in 
the house, gave the young sufferer so much relief that 
she often, during the winter, entered heartily into the fes- 
tive spirit of the season. Her lines to her mother at 
Christmas, and her Departure of the year 1837, and Com- 
mencement of 1838, evince a healthy and joyous state of 
feeling, as well as a wonderful development of reflective 
power and expressive grace. 

The circumstances attending the composition of the lat- 
ter piece, are thus impressively described by her mother. 

"The last day of the year 1837 arrived. 'Mamma,' 
said she, ' will you sit up with me to-night until after 
twelve V I looked inquiringly. She replied, ' I wish to 
bid farewell to the present, and to welcome the com- 
ing year.' After the family retired, and we had seated 
ourselves by a cheerful fire, to spend the hours which 
would intervene until the year 1838 should dawn upon 
us, she was serious, but not sad ; and, as if she had nothing 
more than usual upon her mind, took some light sewing 
in her hand, and so interested me by her conversation, 



600 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXXXIV. 

that I scarcely noticed the flight of time. At half-past 
eleven, she handed me a book, pointing to some interest- j 
ing article to amuse me, then took her seat at the writing- 
table, and composed the piece on the departure of the 
old year, 1837, and the commencement of the new one, 
1838. When she had finished the Farewell, except the 
last verse, it wanted a few minutes of twelve. She rested 
her arms in silence upon the table, apparently absorbed in 
meditation. The clock struck — a shade of deep thought 
passed over her expressive face — she remained solemn 
and silent, until the last tone had ceased to vibrate, when 
she again resumed her pen and wrote, ' The bell ! it hath 
ceased.' When the clock struck, I arose from my seat, 
and stood leaning over the back of her chair, with a mind 
deeply solemnized by a scene so new and interesting. 
The words flowed rapidly from her pen, without haste or 
confusion, and at one o'clock we were quietly in bed." 



Reading Lesson CCXXXIV. 
Life of Margaret Davidson, continued. 

" ON THE DEPAETURE OF THE YEAR 1837, AND THE 
COMMENCEMENT OF 1838." 

" Hark to the house-clock's measured chime, 
As it cries to the stai-tled ear, 
A dirge for the soul of departing time, 
A requiem foi- the year.' 

" Thou art passing away to the mighty past, 
Where thy countless brethren sleep ; 
Till the great archangel's trumpet-blast 
Shall viraken land and deep. 

" Oh ! the lovely and beautiful things that lie 
On thy cold and motionless breast ! 
Oh ! the tears, the rejoicings, the smiles, the sighs, 
Departing vdth thee to their rest. 

" Thou wert ushered to life amid darkness and gloom, 
But the cold, icy cloud passed away ; 
And spring, in her verdure, and freshness, and bloom, 
Touched with glory thy mantle of gray. 

" The flowerets burst forth in their beauty, — the trees 
In their exquisite robes were arrayed; 
But thou glidedst along, and the flower and the leaf, 
At the sound of thy footsteps, decayed. 



BIOGRAPHY.-MARGARET DAVIDSON. 501 

" And fairer young blossoms were blooming alone ; 
And they died at the glance of thine eye : 
But a life was within, which should rise o'er thine own. 
And a spirit thou couldst not destroy. 

" Thou hast folded thy pinions, thy race is complete, 
And fulfilled the Creator's behest : 
Then, adieu to thee, year of our sorrows and joys, 
And peacefiil and long be thy rest ! 

" Farewell ! for thy truth-wi-itten record is full. 
And the page weeps, for sorrow and crime ; 
Farewell ! for the leaf hath shut down on the past, 
And concealed the dark annals of time. 



" The bell ! it hath ceased with its iron tongue. 
To ring on the startled ear ; 
The dirge o'er the grave of the lost one is rung- 
All hail to the new-bom year ! 

• " All hail to the new-bom year ! 

To the child of hope and fear ! 

He comes on his car of state, 

And weaves our web of fate ; 
And he opens his robe to receive us all, 
And we live or die, and we rise or fall, 

In the arms of the new-bom year ! 

" Hope ! spread thy soaring wings ! 
Look forth on the boundless sea. 
And trace thy bright and beautiful things 
On the veil of the great To Be. 

" Build palaces broad as the sky, 

And store them with treasures of light ; 
Let exquisite visions bewilder the eye. 
And illumine the darkness of night. 

" We are gliding fast from the bui-ied year. 
And the present is no more ; 
But hope, we will borrow thy sparkling gear, 
And shroud the future o'er. 

" Our tears and sighs shall sleep 
In the gi-ave of the silent past ; 
We will raise up flowers — nor weep 
That the au'-hues may not last. 

" We will dream our dreams of joy ; — 
Ah, Fear! why darken the scene? 
Why sprinkle that ominous tear, 
My beautiful visions between? 

" Hath not soitow swift wings of her own. 
That thou must assist in her flight ? 
Is not daylight too rapidly gone. 
That thou must urge onward the night ? 



502 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LES30N CCXXXV. 

"Ah! leave me to fancy, to hope, — 
For grief will too quickly be here ; 
Ah ! leave me to shadow forth figures of light, 
In the mystical robe of the year. 

" 'Tis true, they may never assume 

The substance of pleasure, — the real ; — 
But believe me, our purest of joy 
Consists in the vague — the ideal. 

" Then away to some darksome cave, 

With thy sisters, the sigh and the tear ; — 
We will drink, in the crystal wave, 
To the health of the new-born year." 

Reading Lesson CCXXXV. 
Life of Margaret Davidson, continued. 

The following extract from a letter of Margaret to a 
cousin, possesses peculiar interest, as disclosing ihe most 
intimate workings of her mind. 

" Dear Kate : — This day I am fifteen ; and you can, 
you will, readily pardon and account for the absurd flights 
of my pen, by supposing that my tutelary spirits, nonsense 
and folly, have assembled around the being of their crea- 
tion, and claimed the day as exclusively their own ; theu 
I pray you to lay to their account all that I have already 
scribbled, and believe that, uninfluenced by these grinning 
deities, I can think and feel, and love, as I love you, with 
all warmth and sincerity of heart. Do you remember 
how we used to look forward to sweet fifteen, as the pin- 
nacle of human happiness, the golden age of existence 1 
You have but lately passed that milestone in the highway 
of life ; I have just reached it ; but I find myself no bet- 
ter satisfied to stand still, than before, and look forward 
to the continuance of my journey, with the same ardent 
longing I felt at fourteen. 

" Ah ! Kate, here we are, two young travellers, starting 
forth upon our long pilgrimage, and knowing not whither 
it may conduct us ! You, some months my superior, in 
age, and many years, in acquaintance with society, in ex- 
ternal attractions, and all those accomplishments necessa- 
ry to form an elegant woman, i, knowing nothing of life 
but from books, and a small circle of friends, who love me 
as I love them ; looking upon \h.e past as a faded dream, 
which I shall have time enough to study and expound, 
when old age and sorrow come on : upon the present as 



BIOGRAPHY.— MARGARET DAVIDSON. 503 

a nursling, a preparative for the future ; and, upon that 
future, as whatl — a mighty whirlpool, of hopes and fears, 
of bright anticipations and bitter disappointrifents, into 
which 1 shall soon plunge, and find there, in common 
with the rest of the world, my happiness or misery," 

The approach of spring enkindled the liveliest hopes 
of recovery in the bosom of the young invalid, and even 
in those of her family. On their removal, in the month 
of May, to Saratoga, an additional impulse seemed to have 
been given to her improvement. But the fatal symptom 
of returning cough, soon made its appearance. The phy- 
sician forbade all hope of recovery, and advised only such 
measures as seemed best adapted to soothe and cheer the 
remaining hours of life to the sufferer. 

She was allowed, accordingly, to amuse herself with 
superintending a flower-bed in the garden, and, subse- 
quently, to attempt a journey to New York, in company 
with her brother, notwithstanding a return of hemorrhage 
which, for a time, caused her family much alarm. 

From New York she made an excursion to West 
Chester, which yielded her much enjoyment, from the 
beauty of the scenery on the Hudson, the quiet style of 
the dwellings, and the historical and literary associations 
connected with the vicinity. 

The return home was effected not without difficulty ; 
and serious apprehensions, though still mingled with the 
earnest wish for life, began now to occupy the mind of 
Margaret herself Some of her friends having urged the 
importance of change of climate, as a means of restoration, 
the physician was consulted on this point ; and his dissua- 
sion of the attempt seemed to make Margaret more fully 
aware, than hitherto, of her condition ; although this con- 
sciousness was manifested rather by silence than expres- 
sion. 

The current of her thoughts was still farther evinced in 
her closer searching of the Scriptures. One of the last 
pieces she ever wrote, her lines to her mother, indicates, 
at last, the full consciousness of her condition, and the 
composure of soul, with which she was now enabled to 
contemplate her departure from earth. 



504 NEVV-YOKK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCXXXVI. 

" TO MY MOTHER." 

" O mother, would, the power were mine 
To wake the sti-ain thou lov'st to hear, 

And breathe each trembling, new-born thought, 
Within thy fondly listening ear. 

As when, in days of health and glee, 

My hopes and fancies wandered free ! 

" But, mother, now a shade has past 

Athwart my brightest visions here, — 

A cloud of darkest gloom has wrapt 
The remnant of my brief career ! 

No song, no echo, can I win, — 

The sparkling fount has died within. 

" The torch of earthly hope bmiis dim. 

And Fancy spreads her wings no more ; 
And, oh ! how vain and trivial seem 

The pleasures that I prized before ! 
My soul, with trembling steps and slow. 

Is struggling on through doubt and strife ; 
Oh ! may it prove, as time rolls on, 

The pathway to eternal life — 
Then, when my cares and fears are o'er, 
I'll sing thee as in days of yore. 

" I said that hope had passed from earth : 
'Twas but to fold her wings in Heaven, 

To whisper of the soul's new birth, 
Of sinners saved and sins forgiven. 

When mine are washed in tears away. 

Then shall my spirit swell my lay. 

" When God shall guide my soul above. 
By the soft cords of heavenly love ; 
When the vain cares of earth depart. 
And tuneful voices swell my heart, 
Then shall each word, each note I raise. 
Burst forth in pealing hymns of praise ; 
And all, not offered at His shrine, 
Dear mother, I will place on thine." 

Reading Lesson CCXXXVI. j 

Life of Margaret Davidson, continued. 

Mr. Irving closes his admirable memoir of this lovely 
being, w^ith the following touching expressions. 

" We here conclude this memoir, which, for the most 
part, as the reader will perceive, is a mere transcript of: 
the records furnished by a mother's heart. We shall not 
pretend to comment on these records : they need no com-i 
ment J and they admit no heightening. Indeed, the farther 



BIOGRAPHY.-MARGARET DAVIDSON. 505 

we have proceeded with our subject, the more has the in- 
tellectual beauty and the seraphic purity of the little bein<y 
we have endeavored to commemorate, broken upon us ; and 
the more have we shrunk at our own unworthiness for 
such a task. To use one of her own exquisite expres- 
sions, she was ' a spirit of heaven fettered by the strong 
affection of earth ;' and the whole of her brief sojourn 
here, seems to have been a struggle to regain her native 
skies. We may apply to her a passage from one of her 
own tender apostrophes to the memory of her sister Lu- 
cretia 

" One who came from heaven, awhile 

To bless the mourners here, 
Their joys to hallow with her smile, 
Their sorrow with her tear : 

" Who joined to all the charms of earth 
The noblest gifts of heaven ; 
To whom the Muses, at her birth. 
Their sweetest smiles had given : 

" Whose eye beamed forth with fancy's ray, 
And genius pure and high ; 
Whose very soul had seemed to bathe 
In streams of melody. 

" The cheek which once so sweetly beamed, 
Grew pallid with decay ; 
The burning fire withiu consumed 
Its tenement of clay. 

" Death, as if fearing to destroy. 
Paused o'er her couch avv-hile ; 
She gave a tear for those she loved. 
Then met him with a smile." 

We subjoin three beautifiil specimens of the poetic effu- 
sions of this brief sojourner on earth, which disclose the 
workings of her soul, in some of its most characteristic 
moods, — one, that of calm contemplation ; another, that of 
affectionate endearment ; a third, that of earnest aspiration- 

" TWILIGHT." 

" Twilight ! sweet hour of peace, 
Now art thou stealing on ; 
Cease from thy tumult, thought ! and fancy, cease ! 
Day and its cares have gone ! 
Mysterious hour. 
Thy magic power 
Steals o'er my heart like music's softest tone. 
Y 



506 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCXXXVI. 

" The golden sunset hues 
Are fading in Uie west ; 
The gorgeous clouds their brighter radiance lose, 
Folded on evening's breast. 
So doth each wayward thought, 
From fancy's altar caught. 
Fade like thy tints, and muse itself to rest. 

" Cold must that bosom be. 

Which never felt thy power, 
Which never thrilled with tender melody. 
At this bevdtching hour; 
When nature's gentle art 
Enchains the pensive heart ; 
When the breeze sinks to rest, and shuts the fragrant flower. 

" It is the hour for pensive thought. 
For memory of the past. 
For saddened joy, for chastened hope 
01' brighter scenes at last ; 
The soul should raise 
Its hymn of praise, 
That calm so sweet on hfe's dull stream is cast. 

" Weai-ied with care, how sweet to hail 
Thy shadowy, calm repose. 
When all is silent but the whispering gale 
Which greets the sleeping rose ; 
When, as thy shadows blend. 
The trembling thoughts ascend, 
And borne aloft, the gates of heaven unclose. 

" Forth from the warm recess 
The chained affections flow. 
And peace, and love, and tranquil happiness 
Their mingled joys bestow : 

Charmed by the mystic spell, 
The purer feelings swell. 
The nobler powers revive, expand, and glow." 



^ON MY MOTHER'S FIFTIETH BIRTHDAY." 

" Yes, mother, fifty years have fled. 
With rapid footsteps o'er thy head, — 
Have passed with all their motley train. 
And left thee on thy couch of pain ! 
How^ many smiles, and sighs, and tears. 
How many hopes, and doubts, and fears, 
Have vanished with that lapse of years ! 
Though past, those hours of pain and grief 
Have left their trace on memory's leaf; 
Have stamped their footprints on the heart, 
In lines which never can depart ; 
Their influence on the mind, must be 
As endless as eternity. 



BIOGRAPHY.— MARGARET DAVIDSON. 507 

Years, ages, to oblivion roll. 
Their memory forms the deathless soul ; 
They leave their impress as they go, 
And shape the mind for joy or vi^oe ! 
Yes, mother, fifty years have passed, 
And brought thee to their close at last. 
Oh ! that we all could gaze, like thee, 
Back on that dark and tideless sea, 
And, 'mid its varied records, find 
A heart at ease with all mankind, 
A firm and self-approving mind ! 
Grief, that had broken hearts less fine, 
Hath only served to strengthen thine ; 
Time, that doth chill the fancy's play. 
Hath kindled thine with purer ray ; 
And stem disease, whose icy dart 
Hath power to chill the shrinking heart, 
Hath left thine warm with love and truth, 
As in the halcyon days of youth. 
Oh ! turn not from the meed of praise 
A daughter's willing justice pays; 
But greet with smiles of love again 
This tribute of a daughter's pen." 



" ASPIRATIONS." 

" Oh ! for a something more than this, 
To fill the void within my breast ; — 
A sweet reality of bliss, 

A something bright, but unexpressed ! 

" My spirit longs for something higher 

Than life's dull stream can e'er supply ; — 
Something to feed this inward fire. 

This spark, which never more can die. 

" I'd hold companionship with all 
Of pure, of noble, or divine ; 
With glowing heart adoring fall, 
And kneel at nature's sylvan shrine. 

" My soul is like a broken lyre. 

Whose loudest, sweetest chord is gone ; 
A note half trembling on the wire. — 
A heart that wants an echouig tone. 

" When shall I find this shadowy bliss. 

This shapeless phantom of the mind ? — 
This something words can ne'er express, 
So vague, so faint, so undefined ? 

" Why are these restless, vain desires. 

Which always grasp at something more, 
To feed the spirit's hidden fires. 

Which burn unseen, — unnoticed soar ? 



508 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCXXXVI. 

" Well might the heathen sage have known 
That earth must fail the soul to bind ; 
That life, and life's tame joys, alone, 
Could never chain the ethereal mind."* 

* To some minds, the article which closes above, may seem to have been unduly 
lengthened. We can only offer the brief answer — that our pages are designed for 
the young, and, in this instance, for female readers, — to whom the quiet unfolding 
of youthful genius and feminine character, in the seclusion of domestic life, has a 
tharm as powerful as the fascination of greatness and renown, to the admirer of 
ihe actions of statesmen and heroes. 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 

MODES OF LIVING IN ALBANY. 
Reading Lesson CCXXXVIL 

Introductory Observations. 

The following gi-aphic passages furnish interesting 
views of the early modes of life, in colonial New York. 
They will enable our readers to give to our outlines of 
historical and biographical narrative, that relief and 
coloring of detail which could not be given in preceding 
pages, without too frequent interruption to the current 
of events in history, or the connection of incidents in 
biography. 

The sketches which are here presented, are drawn 
from Mrs. Grant's vivid descriptions of American scenery 
and society : she gives these partly from her own ob- 
servation in Albany and the adjoining region, about a 
hundred years ago, and, partly, from conversation with 
persons, whose memory extended to the state of things at 
the close of the preceding century. 

Gardening. — " Not only the training of children, but 
of plants, such as needed peculiar care or skill to rear 
them, was the female province. Every one, in town or 
country, had a garden ; but all the more hardy plants 
-grew in the field, in rows, amidst the hills, as they were 
called, of Indian corn. These lofty plants sheltered them 
from the sun, while the same hoeing served for both : 
there, cabbages, potatoes, and other esculent roots, with 
variety of gourds, gi'ew to a great size, and were of an 
excellent quality. 

" Kidney-beans, asparagus, celery, great variety of 
salads, and sweet herbs, cucumbers, &c., were only ad- 
mitted into the garden, into which no foot of man in- 
truded, after it was dug in spring. There were no trees: 
those grew in the orchard, in high perfection. Straw- 



510 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXXXVU. 

berries, and many high-flavored fruits of the shrub kind, 
abounded so much in the woods, that they did not think 
of cultivating them in their gardens, which were ex- 
tremely neat, but small, and not, by any means, calcu- 
lated for walking in. 

" I think I yet see, what I have so often beheld, both 
in town and country, a respectable mistress of a family 
going out to her garden, in an April morning, with her 
great calash, her little painted basket of seeds, and her 
rake over her shoulder, to her garden labors. These 
were, by no means, merely figurative. 

' From mom till noon, from noon till dewy eve,' 

a woman, in very easy circumstances, and abundantly 
gentle in form and manners, would sow, and plant, and 
rake, incessantly. These fair gardeners were also great ^ 
florists ; their emulation and solicitude in this pleasing 
employment, did indeed produce " flowers worthy of 
Paradise." Though not set in " curious knots," they 
were arranged in beds, the varieties of each kind by 
themselves ; this, if not varied and elegant, was at least 
rich and gay. To the Schuylers this description did not 
apply ; they had gardens, and their gardens were laid 
out in the European manner. 

Interchange of visits hetiveen the inhabitants of Albany 
and those of New York. — " Perhaps I should reserve my 
description of the manner of living in that country for 
that period, when, by the exertions of a few humane and 
enlightened individuals, it assumed a more regular and 
determinate form. Yet, as the same outline was pre- 
served through all the stages of its progression, I know 
not but that it may be best to sketch it entirely, before I 
go farther ; that the few and simple facts which my nar- 
rative aff()rds may not be clogged by explanations relative 
to the customs, or to any other peculiarities, which can 
only be understood by a previous acquaintance with the 
nature of the country, its political relations, and the man- 
ners of the people : my recollection, all this while, has 
been merely confined to Albany, and its precincts. 

" At New York, there was always a governor, a few 
troops, and a kind of little court kept ; there, too, was a 
mixed, and, in some degree, polished society. To this 
the accession of many families of French Huguenots, 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 51 1 

rather above the middhng rank, contributea not a little : 
those conscientious exiles had more knowledge and piety 
than any other class of the inhabitants ; their religion 
seemed indeed endeared to them, by what they had suf- 
fered for adhering to it. Their number and wealth were 
such as enabled them to build, not only a street, but a 
very respectable church, in the new city. In this place 
of woi'ship, within my recollection, service continued to 
be celebrated in the French language ; though the original 
congregation was, by that time, much blended in the mass 
of general society. 

" It was the custom of the inhabitants of the upper 
settlement, who had any pretensions to superior culture 
or polish, among which number Mr. Schuyler stood fore- 
most, to go, once a year, to New York, where all the law 
courts were held, and all the important business of the 
province was transacted. Here, too, they sent their 
children occasionally to reside with their relations, and 
to learn the more polished manners and, language of the 
capital. The inhabitants of that city, on the other hand, 
delighted in a summer excursion to Albany. The beauti- 
ful, and, in some places, highly singular banks of the 
river, rendered a voyage to its source both amusing and 
interesting, while the primitive manners of the inhabi- 
tants diverted the gay and idle, and pleased the thought- 
ful and speculative." 

Reading Lesson CCXXXVIII. 

Albany, in early times. — " The city of Albany stretched 
along the banks of the Hudson ; one very wide and long 
street lay parallel to the river ; the intermediate space 
between it and the shore, being occupied by gardens. 
A small but steep hill rose above the centre of the town, 
on which stood a fort, intended (but very ill adapted,) for 
the defence of the place, and of the neighboring country. 
From the foot of this hill, another street was built, sloping 
pretty rapidly down, till it joined the one before men- 
tioned, that ran along the river. This street was still 
wider than the other ; it was only paved on each side, 
the middle being occupied by public edifices. These 
consisted of a market-place, or guard-house, a town hall, 
and the Ensrlldh and Dutch churches. 



512 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXXXVIIL 

" The English church, belonging to the episcopal per- 
suasion, and in the diocese of the bishop of London, stood 
at the foot of the hill, at the upper end of the street. The 
Dutch church was situated at the bottom of the descent 
where the street terminated ; two irregular streets, not so 
broad, but equally long, ran parallel to those; and a few 
even ones opened between them. 

" The town, in proportion to its population, occupied a 
great space of ground. This city, in short, was a kind 
of semi-rural establishment ; every house had its garden, 
well, and a little green behind ; before every door a tree 
was planted, rendered interesting by being coeval with 
some beloved member of the family : many of their trees 
were of a prodigious size and extraordinary beauty, but 
without regularity; every one planting the kind that best 
pleased him, or which he thought would afford the most 
agreeable shade to the open portico at his door, which 
was surrounded by seats, and ascended by a few steps. 
It was in these that each domestic group was seated, in 
summer evenings, to enjoy the balmy twilight, or the 
serenely clear moonlight. 

" Each family had a cow, fed in a common pasture, at 
the end of the town. In the evening, the herd returned 
all together, of their own accord, with their tinkling bells 
hung at their necks, along the wide and grassy street, to 
their wonted sheltering trees, to be milked at their mas- 
ters' doors. 

" Nothing could be more pleasing to a simple and 
benevolent mind, than to see thus, at one view, all the 
inhabitants of a town, which contained not one very rich 
or very poor, very knowing or very ignorant, very rude 
or very polished, individual ; to see all these children of 
nature enjoying in easy indolence, or social intercourse, 

'The cool, the fragiaut, and the dusky hour,' 

clothed in the plainest habits, and with minds as undis- 
guised and artless. These primitive beings were dispersed 
in porches, grouped, according to similarity of years and 
inclinations. At one door, were young matrons ; at an- 
other, the elders of the people; at a third, the youths and 
maidens, gayly chatting or singing together ; while the 
children played round the trees, or waited by the cows, 
for the chief ingredient of their frugal supper, which they 



i 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 513 

generally ate sitting on the steps, in the open air. This 
picture, so familiar to rny imagination, has led me away 
■from my purpose, which was to describe the rural econ- 
omy, and modes of living in this patriarchal city. 

" At one end of the town, as I observed before, was a 
common pasture, where all the cattle belonging to the 
inhabitants grazed together. At the other end of the 
town, was a fertile plain along the river, three miles in 
length, and near a mile broad. This was all divided into 
lots, where every inhabitant raised Indian corn sufficient 
for the food of two or three slaves, (the greatest number 
that each family ever possessed,) and for his horses, pigs, 
and poultry ; their flour and other grain they purchased 
from farmers in the vicinity. Above the town, a long 
stretch to the westward was occupied first by sandy hills, 
on which grew bilberries of uncommon size and flavor, in 
prodigious quantities ; beyond, rose heights of a poor hun- 
gry soil, thinly covered with stunted pines, or dwarf oak. 
Yet, in this comparatively barren tract, there were several 
wild and picturesque spots, where small brooks, running 
in rich and deep bottoms, nourished, on their banks, every 
vegetable beauty : there, some of the most industrious 
early settlers had cleared the luxuriant wood from these 
charming glens, and built neat cottages for their slaves, sur- 
rounded with little gardens and orchards, sheltered from 
every blast, wildly picturesque, and richly productive. 

" Those small sequestered vales had an attraction that 
I know not how to describe, and which probably resulted 
from the air of deep repose that reigned there, and the 
strong contrast which they exhibited to the surrounding 
sterility. One of these vvas, in my time, inhabited by a 
hermit. He was a Frenchman, and did not seem to inspire 
much veneration among the Albanians. They imagined, 
or had heard, that he retired to that solitude, in remorse 
for some fatal duel in which he had been engaged ; and 
considered him as an idolater, because he had an image of 
the Virgin in his hut. I think he retired to Canada, at 
last ; but I remember being ready to worship him for the 
sanctity with which my imagination invested him, and be- 
ing cruelly disappointed because I was not permitted to 
visit him. These cottages were, in summer, occupied by 
some of the negroes, who cultivated the grounds about 
them, and served as a place of joyful liberty to the children 

Y* 



514 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CCXXXIX. 

of the family, on holidays, and as a nursery for the young 
negroes, whom it was the custom to rear very tenderly, 
and instruct very carefully." 

Reading Lesson CCXXXIX 

Treatment of children. — " The girls, from the example 
of their mothers, rather than any compulsion, very early 
became notable and industrious, being constantly em- 
ployed in knitting stockings, and making clothes for the 
family and slaves : they even made all the boys' clothes. 
This was the more necessary, as all articles of clothing 
were extremely dear. Though all the necessaries of life, 
and some luxuries, abounded ; money, as yet, was a scarce 
commodity. 

" This industry was the more to be admired, as children 
were there indulged to a degree that, in our vitiated state 
of society, would have rendered them good for nothing. 
But there, where ambition, vanity, and the more turbulent 
passions were scarcely awakened ; where pride, founded 
on birth, or any exteraal preeminence, was hardly known ; 
and where the affections flourished fair and vigorous, un- 
checked by the thorns and thistles with which our minds 
are cursed in a moi"e advanced state of refinement, affec- 
tion restrained parents from keeping their children at 
a distance, and inflicting harsh punishments. But then 
they did not treat them like apes or parrots, by teaching 
them to talk with borrowed words and ideas, and after- 
wards gratifying their own vanity by exhibiting these pre- 
mature wonders to company, or repeating their sayings. 
They were tenderly cherished, and early taught that they 
owed all their enjoyments to the Divine Souice of benefi- 
cence, to whom they were finally accountable for their 
actions. 

" For the rest, they were very much left to nature, and 
permitted to range about, at full liberty, in their earliest 
years, covered in summer with some slight and cheap 
garb, which merely kept the sun from them, and in winter 
with some warm habit, in which convenience only was 
consulted. Their dress of ceremony was never put on 
but when their ' comjmny^* were assembled. They were 

* The allusion above is to the custom of children associating in lim- 
ited groups or circles, which were called companies. 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 615 

extremely fond of their children ; but, luckily for the lat- 
ter, never dreamed of being vain of their immature wit 
and parts, which accounts, in some measure, for the great 
scarcity of coxcombs among them. The children returned 
the fondness of their parents with such tender affection, 
that they feared giving them pain as much as ours do pun- 
ishment, and very rarely wounded their feelings by neg- 
lect, or rude answers. Yet the boys were often wilful 
and giddy, at a certain age ; the girls being sooner tamed 
and domesticated. 

" These youths were apt, whenever they could carry a 
gun, — which they did at a very early period, — to follow 
some favorite negro to the woods, and, while he was em- 
ployed in felling trees, to range, the whole day, in search of 
game, to the neglect of all intellectual improvement; and 
they thus contracted a love of savage liberty, which might, 
and, in some instances, did, degenerate into licentious and 
idle habits. Indeed, there were three stated periods in 
the year, when, for a few days, young and old, masters 
and slaves, were abandoned to unruly enjoyment, and neg- 
lected every serious occupation for pursuits of this nature." 

Game. — " Along the sea-banks, in all these southern 
provinces, are low, sandy lands, which never were nor 
will be inhabited, covered with the berry-bearing myrtle, 
from which wax is extracted, fit for candles. Behind 
these banks are woods, and unwholesome swamps, of 
great extent. The myrtle groves formerly mentioned, 
afford shelter and food to countless multitudes of pigeons, 
in winter, when their fruit is in season ; while wild geese 
and ducks, in numbers nearly as great, pass the winter in 
the impenetrable swamps behind. 

" Some time in the month of April, a general emigra- 
tion takes place to the northward, first of the geese and 
ducks, and then of the pigeons; they keep the direction 
of the sea-coast, till they come to the mouths of the great 
rivers, and then follow their course, till they reach the 
great lakes in the interior, where nature has provided for 
them with the same liberality as in their winter haunts. 
On the banks of these lakes, there are large tracts of 
ground, covered with a plant taller and more luxuriant 
than the wild carrot, but something resembling it, on the 
seeds of which the pigeons feed, all the summer, while 
they are rearing their young. When they pass in spring. 



516 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXL. 

■which they always do in the same track, they go in great 
numbers, and are very fat. Their progression north- 
ward and southward, begins always about the vernal and 
autumnal equinoxes ; and it is this that renders the car- 
nage so great, when they pass over inhabited districts. 
They begin to fly in the dawn, and are never seen after 
nine or ten o'clock in the morning ; possibly feeding and 
resting in the woods, all the rest of the day. If the morn- 
ing be dry and windy, all the fowlers, — that is, everybody, 
— are disappointed ; for then the pigeons fly so high that 
no shot can reach them ; but, in a cloudy morning, the 
carnage is incredible ; and it is singular that their migra- 
tion falls out at the times of the year when the weather, 
even in this serene climate, is generally cloudy. 

" This migration, as it passed by, occasioned, as I said 
before, a total relaxation from all employments, and a kind 
of drunken gayety, though it was rather slaughter than 
sport ; and, for above a fortnight, pigeons in pies and 
soups, and every way they could be dressed, were the 
food of the inhabitants. These were immediately succeed- 
ed by wild geese and ducks, which concluded the carnival 
for that season, which was to be renewed in September. 

"About six weeks after the passage of these birds, 
sturgeons of a large size, and in great quantity, mgide 
their appearance in the river. Again the same ardor 
seemed to pervade all ages, in pursuit of this new object. 
Every family had a canoe ; and, on this occasion, all were 
launched ; and these persevering fishers traced the course 
of the sturgeon up the river ; followed them by torch 
light ; and often continued two nights upon the water ; 
never returning till they had loaded their canoes with this 
valuable fish, and many other very excellent in their kinds, 
that come up the river, usually, at the same time. The 
sturgeon not only furnished them with good part of their 
food, in the summer months, but was pickled or dried, for 
future use or exportation." 

Reading Lesson CCXL. 

An Albanian youth, setting out in life. — " When one of the 
hoi/s,-^-as the young men were called, — was disposed to 
marry, his fowling-piece and fishing-rod were at once re- 
linquished. He demanded of his father forty or, at most, 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 51 7 

fifty dollars, a negro boy, and a canoe ; all of a sudden, he 
assumed the brow of care and solicitude, and began to 
emoke, — a precaution absolutely necessary to repel aguish 
damps, and troublesome insects. He arrayed himself in 
a habit very little differing from that of the aborigines, 
into whose bounds he was about to penetrate, and, in 
short, commenced Indian trader. That strange amphibi- 
ous animal, who, uniting the acute senses, the strong in- 
stincts, and the unconquerable patience and fortitude of 
the savage, with the art, policy, and inventions of the 
European, encountered, in the pursuit of gain, dangers 
and difficulties equal to those described in the romantic 
legends of chivalry. 

" The small bark canoe, in which this hardy adventurer 
embarked himself, his fortune, and his faithful squire, (who 
was generally born in the same house, and predestined to 
his service,) was launched amidst the teais and prayers 
of his female relations, among Avhom was generally in- 
cluded Jiis destined bride, who well knew herself to be 
the motive of this perilous adventure. 

Outfit of an Itidian trader. — " The canoe was entirely 
filled with coarse strouds and blankets, guns, powder, 
beads, &c., suited to the various wants and fancies of the 
natives. One pernicious article was never wanting, and 
often made a great part of the cargo. This was ardent 
spirits, for which the natives too early acquired a relish, 
and the possession of which always proved dangerous, and 
sometimes fatal to the traders. The Mohawks bring their 
furs and other peltry habitually to the stores of their wonted 
friends and patrons. But it was not in that easy and safe 
direction that these trading adventures extended. 

Toils of the Indian trader's life. — " The canoe generally 
steered northward, towards the Canadian frontier. They 
passed by the Flats and Stonehook, in the outset of their 
journey. Then commenced their toils and dangers, at the 
famous waterfall called the Cohoes, ten miles above Alba- 
ny, where three rivers, uniting their streams into one, dash 
over a rocky shelf, and, falling into a gulf below, with great 
violence, raise clouds of mist, bedecked with splendid rain- 
bows. This was the Rubicon which they had to cross, be- 
fore they plunged into pathless woods, ingulfing swamps, 
and lakes, the opposite shores of which the eye could not 
reach. 



518 NEW YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXL. 

" At the Cohoes, on account of the obstruction formed 
by the torrent, they unloaded their canoe, and carried it, 
above a mile farther, upon their shoulders, returning again 
for the cargo, which they were obliged to transport in the 
same manner. This was but a prelude to labors and dan- 
gers incredible to those who dwell at ease. Farther on, 
much longer carrying-places frequently recurred ; where 
they had the vessel and cargo to drag through thickets 
impervious to the day, abounding with snakes and wild 
beasts, which are always to be found on the side of rivers. 

Scanty stippUes of food. — " Their provision of food was 
necessarily small, from fear of overloading the slender and 
unstable conveyance already crowded with goods. A little 
dried beef and Indian-corn meal was their whole stock ; 
though they formerly enjoyed both plenty and variety. 
They were, in a great measure, obliged to depend upon 
their own skill in hunting and fishing, and on the hospi- 
tality of the Indians : for hunting, indeed, they had small 
leisure, their time being sedulously employed by the ob- 
stacles that retarded their progress. In their slight and 
fragile canoes, they often had to cross great lakes, on 
which the wind raised a terrible surge. 

Customary resorts — " Afraid of going into the track of 
the French tradeis, who were always dangerous rivals, 
and often declared enemies, they durst not follow the 
direction of the river St. Lawrence ; but, in search of 
distant territories and unknown tribes, were wont to 
deviate to the east and southwest, forcing their painful 
way towards the source of ' rivers unknown to song,' 
whose winding course was often interrupted by shallows, 
and, oftener still, by fallen trees of great magnitude, lying 
across, which it was requisite to cut through, with their 
hatchets, before they could proceed. Small rivers which 
wind through fertile valleys, in this country, are peculiar- 
ly liable to this obstruction. The chestnut and hickory 
grow to so large a size in this kind of soil, that, in time, 
they become top-heavy, and are then the first prey to the 
violence of the winds ; and thus falling, form a kind of 
accidental bridge over these rivers. 

Night in the woods. — " When the toils and dangers of 
the day were over, the still greater terrors of the night 
commenced. In this, which might literally be styled the 
howling wilderness, they were forced to sleep in the open 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 519 

air, which was frequently loaded with the humid evapora- 
tion of swamps, ponds, and redundant vegetation. Here 
the axe must be again employed, to procure the materials 
of a large fire, even in the warmest weather. This pre- 
caution was necessary, that the flies and mosquetoes might 
be expelled by the smoke, and that the wolyes and bears 
might be deteri'ed by the flame, from encroaching on their 
place of rest. But the light which afforded them protec- 
tion, created fresh disturbance. 

' Loud as the wolves on Orca's stormy steep, 
Howl to the roariugs of the northern deep,' 

the American wolves howl to the fires kindled to affright 
them, watching, the whole night, on the surrounding hills, 
to keep up a concert, which truly ' rendered night hide- 
ous;' meantime the bullfrogs, terrible though harmless, 
and smaller kinds, of various tones, and in countless num- 
bers, seemed, all night, calling to each other from oppo- 
site swamps, and formed the most dismal assemblage of 
discordant sounds. 

" Though serpents abounded very much in the woods, 
few of them were noxious. The rattlesnake, the only 
dangerous reptile, was not so frequently met with as in 
the neighboring provinces ; and the remedy which nature 
has bestowed, as an antidote to his bite, was very gener- 
ally known. 

Scenery. — " The beauties of rural and varied scenery 
seldom compensated the traveller for the dangers of his 
journey. ' In the close prison of innumerous boughs,' 
and on ground thick with underwood, there was little of 
landscape open to the eye. The banks of streams and 
lakes, no doubt, afforded a rich variety of trees and plants; 
the former, of a most majestic size, the latter, of singular 
beauty and luxuriance ; but, otherwise, they only travelled 
through a grove of chestnuts or oak, to arrive at another 
of maple, or poplar, or a vast stretch of pines and other 
evergreens. If, by chance, they arrived at a hill crowned 
with cedars, which afforded some command of prospect, 
still the gloomy and interminable forest, only varied with 
different shades of green, met the eye, whichever way 
turned, while the mind, repelled by solitude so vast, and 
silence so profound, turned inward on itself Nature here 
wore a veil rich and grand, but impenetrable ; at least, 
this was the impression likely to be made on a European 



520 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSOiN CCXLI. 

mind ; but a native American, familiar from childhood 
with the productions and inhabitants of the woods, sought 
the nuts and wild fruits with which they abounded, the 
nimble squirrel in all its varied forms, the architect beav- 
er, the savage raccoon, and the stately elk, where we should 
see nothing but awful solitudes, untrod by human foot. 

Practical education. — "It is inconceivable how well 
these young travellers, taught by their Indian friends, and 
the experimental knowledge of their fathers, understood 
every soil and its productions. A boy of twelve yeai's old 
would astonish you with his accurate knowledge of plants, 
their properties, and their relation to the soil and to each 
other. ' Here,' said he, ' is a wood of red oak : when it is 
grubbed up,, this will be loam and sand, and make good 
Indian-corn ground. This chestnut wood abounds with 
strawberries, and is the very best soil for wheat. The 
poplar wood yonder is not worth clearing ; the soil is al- 
ways wet and cold. There is a hickory wood, where the 
soil is always rich and deep, and does not run out; such 
and such plants that dye blue, or orange, grow under it.' 

" This is merely a slight epitome of the wide view^s of 
nature that are laid open to these people, from their very 
infancy, the acquisition of this kind of knowledge being 
one of their first amusements ; yet those who were capa- 
ble of astonishing you by the extent and variety of this 
local skill, in objects so varied and so complicated, never 
heard of a 'petal, corolla, or stigma, in their lives, nor 
even of the strata of that soil, with the productions and 
properties of which they were so intimately acquainted," 

Reading Lesson CCXLI. 

School of observation. — " Without compass, or guide of 
any kind, the traders steered through these pathless forests. 
In those gloomy days, when the sun is not visible, or in 
winter, when the falling snows obscured his beams, they 
made an incision on the bark, on the different sides of a 
tree : that on the north, was invariably thicker than the 
other, and covered with moss in much greater quantity; 
and this never-failing indication of the polar influence, 
was to those sagacious travellers, a sufficient guide. They 
had, indeed, several subordinate monitors. Knowing, so 
well as they did, the quality of the soil, by the trees or 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 521 

plants most prevalent, they could avoid a swamp, or ap- 
proach, with certainty, to a river or high ground, if such was 
their wish, by means that, to us, would seem incompre- 
hensible. Even the savages seldom visited these districts, 
except in the dead of winter ; they had towns, as they 
called their summer dwellings, on the banks of the lakes 
and rivers in the interior, where their great fishing-places 
were. In the winter, their grand hunting parties were in 
places more remote from our boundaries, where the deer, 
and other larger animals, took shelter from the neighbor- 
hood of man. 

Sc/wol of experience. — " These single adventurers sought 
the Indians in their spring haunts, as soon as the rivers 
were open : there they had new dangers to apprehend. 
It is well known, that, among the natives of America, re- 
venge was actually a virtue, and retaliation a positive 
duty. While faith was kept with these people, they 
never became aggressors. But the Europeans, by the 
force of bad example, and strong liquors, seduced them 
from their wonted probity. Yet, from the first, their no- 
tion of justice and revenge, was of that vague and general 
nature, that, if they considered themselves injured, or if 
one of their tribe had been killed by an inhabitant of any 
one of our settlements, they considered any individual of 
our nation as a proper subject for retribution. This sel- 
dom happened among our allies; indeed, never, but when 
the injury was obvious, and our people very culpable. 
But the avidity of gain often led our traders to deal with 
Indians among whom the French possessed a degree of 
influence, which produced a smothered animosity to our 
nation. When, at length, after conquering numberless 
obstacles, they arrived at the place of their destination, 
these daring adventurers found occasion for no little ad- 
dress, patience, and, indeed, courage, before they could 
dispose of their cargo, and return safely with the profits. 

Self-reliance. — "The successful trader had now laid the 
foundation of his fortune, and approved himself worthy 
of her for whose sake he encountered all these dangers. 
It is utterly inconceivable, how even a single season, 
spent in this manner, ripened the mind, and changed the 
whole appearance, nay, the very character of the counte- 
nance of these demi-savages ; for such they seem on re- 
turning from among their friends in the forests. Lofty, 



522 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CCXLL 

sedate, and collected, they seem masters of themselves, 
and independent of others ; though, sunburnt and austere, 
one scarcely knows them till they unbend. 

Fresh adventures. — " The joy that the return of these 
youths occasioned, was proportioned to the anxiety their 
perilous journey had produced. In some instances, the 
union of the betrothed immediately took place, before 
the next career of gainful hardships commenced. But 
the more cautious went to New York, in winter, disposed 
of their peltry, purchased a larger cargo, and another 
slave and canoe. The next year, they laid out the profits 
of their former, adventures in flour and provisions, the 
staple of the province ; this they disposed of at the Ber- 
muda islands, where they generally purchased one of 
those light-sailing cedar schooners, for building of which 
those islanders are famous, and, proceeding to the Lee- 
ward islands, loaded it with a cargo of rum, sugar, and 
molasses. 

Settling in life. — " They were now ripened into men, 
and considered as active and useful members of society, 
possessing a stake in the common weal. The young 
adventurer had generally finished this process by the 
same time he was one or, at most, two and twenty. He 
now married, or if married before, which pretty often 
was the case, brought home his wife to a house of his 
own. Either he kept his schooner, and, loading her with 
produce, sailed up and down the river, all summer, and, 
all winter, disposed of the cargoes he obtained in ex- 
change, to more distant settlers; or he sold her, purchased 
European goods, and kept a store. Otherwise, he settled 
in the country, and became as diligent in his agricultural 
pursuits as if he had never known any other. 

" It was in this manner that the young colonist made 
the transition from boyhood to manhood ; from the dis- 
engaged and careless bachelor, to the provident and 
thoughtful father of a family ; and thus was spent that 
period of life so critical in polished society, to those whose 
condition exempts them from manual labor. 

" Such was the manner in which those colonists began 
life ; nor must it be thought that those were mean or un- 
informed persons. Patriots, magistrates, generals, those 
who were afterwards wealthy, powerful, and distin- 
guished, all, except a few elder brothers, occupied by 



PRIMITIVE COLOMAL LIFE. 523 

their possessions at home, set out in the same manner; 
and, in after-hfe, even in the most prosperous circum- 
Btances, they delighted to recount the humble toils and 
destiny obscure of their early years." 

Reading Lesson CCXLII. 

Scene of Indian trade. 

" Indian. — Brother, I am come to trade with you ; but 
I forewarn you to be more moderate in your demands 
than formerly." 

" Trader. — Why, brother, are not my goods of equal 
value with those you had last year 1" 

" Indian. — Peihaps they may be ; but mine are more 
valuable because more scarce. The Great Spirit, who 
has withheld from you strength and ability to provide 
food and clothing for yourselves, has given you cunning 
and art to make guns and provide scaura ;* and, by 
speaking smooth words to simple men, when they have 
swallowed madness, you have by little and little pur- 
chased their hunting-grounds, and made them corn-lands. 
Thus the beavers grow more scarce, and deer fly farther 
back ; yet, after I have reserved skins for my mantle, and 
the clothing of my wife, I will exchange the rest." 

" Trader. — Be it so, brother ; I came not to wrong 
you, or take your furs against your will. It is true the 
beavers are few, and you go farther for them. Come, 
brother, let us deal fair first, and smoke friendly after- 
wards. Your last gun cost fifty beaver-skins ; you shall 
have this for forty ; and you shall give marten and rac- 
coon skins, in the same proportion, for powder and shot." 

" Indian. — Well, brother, that is equal. Now for two 
silver bracelets, with long pendent ear-rings of the same, 
such as you sold to Cardarani, in the sturgeon month,t 
last year. How much will you demand ]" 

" Trader. — The skins of two deer for the bracelets, 
and those of two fawns for the ear-rings." 

" Indian. — That is a great deal ; but wampum grows 
scarce, and silver never rusts. Here are the skins." 

* Scaura is the Indian name for rum. 

t The Indians appropriate a month to catch fish or animals, -which 
is, at that time, the predominant object of pursuit ; as the beai- month, 
the beaver mouth, &c. 



524 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXLII. 

" Trader. — Do you buy any more ] Here are knives, 
hatchets, and beads of all colors," 

" Indian. — 1 will have a knife and a hatchet; but must 
not take more : the rest of the skins will be little enough 
to clothe the women and children, and buy wampum. 
Your beads are of no value ; no warrior who has slain a 
wolf will wear them."* 

" Trader. — Here are many things good for you, which 
you have not skins to buy ; here is a looking-glass, and 
here is a brass kettle, in which your woman may boil 
her maize, her beans, and above all her maple sugar. 
Here are silver broaches, and here are pistols for the 
youths." 

" Indian. — The skins I can spare will not purchase 
them." 

" Trader. — Your will determines, brother; but, next 
year, you will want nothing but powder and shot, having 
already purchased your gun and ornaments. If you will 
purchase from me a blanket to wrap round you, a shirt 
and blue stroud for under garments to yourself and your 
woman, and the same for leggings, this will pass the time, 
and save you the great trouble of dressing the skins, 
making the thread, &c., for your clothing; which will 
give you more fishing and shooting time, in the sturgeon 
and bear months." 

" Indian. — But the custom of my fathers !" 

" Trader. — You will not break the custom of your 
fathers by being thus clad, for a single year. They did 
not refuse those things which were never offered to 
them," 

" Indian. — For this year, brother, I will exchange my 
skins ; in the next, I shall provide apparel more befitting 
a warrior. One pack alone I will reserve to dress for a 
future occasion. The summer must not find a warrior 
idle." 

" The terms being adjusted and the bargain concluded, 
the trader thus shows his gratitude for liberal dealing. 

" Trader. — Corlaer has forbid bringing scaura to steal 
away the wisdom of the warriors ; but we white men are 

* Indians have a great contempt, comparatively, for the beads ■wo 
send; they consider them as only fit for those plebeians who cannot 
by their exertions win any better. They estimate them, compared 
•with their own wampum, as we do pearls compared with paste. 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 525 

weak and cold ; we britig kegs for ourselves, lest death 
arise from the swamps. We will not sell scaura ; but 
you shall taste some of ours, in return for the venison 
with which you have feasted us." 

" Indian. — Brother, we will drink moderately." 

" A bottle was then given to the warrior, by way of 
present, which he was advised to keep long, but found it 
irresistible. He soon returned with the reserved pack 
of skins ; earnestly urging the trader to give him beads, 
silver, bi'oaches, and above all, scaura, to their full 
amount. This, wdth much affected reluctance at parting 
with the private stock, was, at last, yielded. The war- 
riors now, after giving loose for awhile to frantic mirth, 
began the warwhoop, made the woods resound with in- 
furiate bowlings, and having exhausted their dear-bought 
draught, probably determined, in contempt of that prob- 
ity which, at all other times, they rigidly observed, to 
plunder "the instrument of their pernicious gratification. 
He, well aware of the consequences, took care to remove 
himself and his goods to some other place; and a renewal 
of the same scene ensued. Where, all this time, were 
the women, whose gentle counsels might have prevented 
these excesses ] Alas ! unrestrained by that delicacy 
which is certainly one of the best fruits of refinement, 
they shared in them, and sunk sooner under them. 

" A long and deep sleep generally succeeded ; from 
which they awoke in a state of dejection and chagrin, 
such as no Indian had ever experienced, under any other 
circumstances. They felt as Milton describes Adam and 
Eve to have done, after their transgression. Exhausted, 
and forlorn, and stung with the consciousness of error and 
dependence, they had neither the means nor the desire 
of exercising their wonted summer occupations with 
spirit. Vacancy produced languor; and languor made 
them again wish for the potion which gave temporary 
cheerfulness. They carried their fish to the next fort or 
habitation, to barter for rum. This brought on days of 
frenzy, succeeded by torpor. 

" When again roused, by want, to exertion, they saw the 
season passing without the usual provision ; and, by an 
effort of persevering industry, tried to make up for past 
negligence ; and then, worn out by exertion, sunk into 
supine indolence, till the approach of winter called them 



520 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSOX CCXLIII. 

to hunt the bear ; and the arrival of that (their busy sea- 
son) urged on their distant excursions in pursuit of deer.. 
Then they resumed their wonted character, and became 
what they used to be ; but, conscious that acquired tastes 
and wants, which they had lost the habit of supplying 
themselves, would throw them again on the traders for 
clothing, &c., they were themselves outstraining every 
sinew, to procure enough of peltry to answer their pur- 
pose, and to gratify their newly-acquired appetites. 
Thus, the energy, both of their characters and consti- 
tutions, was gradually undermined ; and their numbers 
as effectually diminished, as if they had been wasted 
by war." 

Reading Lessok CCXLIII. 

Social intercourse. — " While on the subject of Albanian 
manners, I must describe their amusements, and some 
other peculiarities in their modes of life. When I say 
their amusements, I mean those in which they differed 
from most other people. Such as they had in common 
with others, require no description. They were exceed- 
ingly social, and visited each other very frequently, be- 
sides the regular assembling together, in their porches, 
every fine evening. Of the more substantial luxuries of 
the table they knew little, and of the formal and ceremo- 
nious parts of good breeding, still less. 

Visiting. — " If you went to spend a day anywhere, you 
were received in a manner we should think very cold. 
No one rose to welcome you ; no one wondered you had 
not come sooner, or apologized for any deficiency in your 
entertainment. Dinner, which was very early, was served 
exactly in the same manner as if there were only the 
family. The house, indeed, was so exquisitely neat and 
well regulated, that you could not surprise these people ; 
they saw each other so often and so easily, that intimates 
made no difference. Of strangers they were shy ; not, by 
any means, from want of hospitality, but from a conscious- 
ness that people who had little to value themselves on but 
their knowledge of the modes and ceremonies of polished 
life, disliked their sincerity, and despised their simplicity. 
If you showed no insolent wonder, but easily and quietly 
adopted their manners, you would receive from them not 
only very great civility, but much essential kindness. Who- 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 627 

ever has not common sense and common gratitude enough 
to pay this tribute of accommodation to those among 
whom he is destined, for the time, to live, must of course 
be an insulated, discontented being, and come home rail- 
ing at the people whose social comforts he disdained to 
partake. 

Tea. — " After sharing this plain and unceremonious din- 
ner, which might, by the by, chance to be a very good one, 
but was invariably that which was meant for the family, 
tea was served in, at a very early hour. And here it was 
that the distinction shown to strangers, commenced. Tea, 
here, was a perfect regale, being served up with various 
sorts of cakes unknown to us, cold pastry, and great quan- 
tities of sweetmeats and preserved fruits of various kinds, 
and plates of hickory and other nuts ready cracked. In 
all manner of confectionary and pastry these people ex- 
celled ; and having fruit, in great plenty, which costs 
them nothing, and getting sugar home, at an easy rate, in 
return for their exports to the West Indies, the quantity 
of these articles used in families, otherwise plain and fru- 
gal, was astonishing. Tea was never unaccompanied with 
one of these petty articles ; but for strangers a great dis- 
play was made. 

Supper. — " If you stayed supper, you were sure of a 
most substantial, though plain one. In this meal, they 
departed, out of compliment to the strangers, from their 
usual simplicity. Having dined between twelve and one, 
you were quite prepared for it. You had either game 
or poultry roasted, and always shellfish in the season ; 
you had also fruit, in abundance. All this, with much 
neatness, but no form. The seeming coldness with which 
you were first received, wore off by degi'ees. They could 
not accommodate their topics to you, and scarcely at- 
tempted it. But the conversation of the old, though lim- 
ited in regard to subjects, was rational and easy, and had 
in it an air of originality and truth, not without its attrac- 
tions. That of the young was natural and playful, yet 
full of localities, which lessened its interest to a stranger, 
but were extremely amusing when you became one of 
the initiated. 

An Albanian picnic, in olden time. — " Their diversions, 
— I mean those of the younger class, — were marked by a 
simplicity, which, to strangers, appeared rude and childish. 



528 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXLIIL 

In spring, eight or ten of one company, or related to each 
other, young men and maidens, would set out together in a 
canoe, on a kind of rural excursion, of which amusement 
was the object. Yet so fixed were their habits of indus- 
try, that they never failed to carry their work-baskets 
with them, not as a form, but as an ingredient necessarily 
mixed with their pleasures. They went without attend- 
ants ; and steered a devious course of four, five, or per- 
haps more miles, till they arrived at some of the beautiful 
islands with which this fine river abounded, or at some 
sequestered spot on its banks, where delicious wild fruits, 
or particular conveniences for fishing, afforded some at- 
traction. There they generally arrived by nine or ten 
o'clock, having set out in the cool and early hour of sun- 
rise. Often they met another party, going, perhaps, to a 
different place, and joined them, or induced them to take 
their route. A basket with tea, sugar, and the other usual 
provisions for breakfast, with the apparatus for cooking 
it ; a little rum and fruit for making cool weak punch, 
the usual beverage in the middle of the day, and, now 
and then, some cold pastry, were the sole provisions ; for 
the great affair was to depend on the sole exertions of 
the hoys in procuring fish, wild ducks, &c., for their din- 
ner. They were all, like Indians, ready and dexterous 
with the axe, gun, &c. 

" Whenever they arrived at their destination, they 
sought out a dry and beautiful spot, opposite to the river, 
and, in an instant, with their axes cleared so much super- 
fluous shade or shrubbery, as left a semicircular opening, 
above which they bent and twined the boughs, so as to form 
a pleasant bower, while the girls gathered dry branches, 
to which one of the youths soon set fire with gunpowder ; 
and the breakfast, a very regular and cheerful one, occu- 
pied an hour or two : the young men then set out to fish, 
or perhaps to shoot birds, and the maidens sat busily 
down to their work ; singing and conversing with all the 
ease and gayety which the benign serenity of the atmos- 
phere, and the beauty of the surrounding scene, were cal- 
culated to inspire. After the sultry hours had been thus 
employed, the hoys brought their tribute from the river or 
the wood, and found a rural meal prepared by their fair 
companions, among whom were generally their sisters 
and the chosen of their hearts. After dinner, they all set 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 529 

out together to gather wild strawberries, or whatever 
other fruit was in season ; for it was accounted a reproach 
to come home empty-handed. When weary of this amuse- 
ment, tliey either drank tea in their bower, or returning, 
landed at some friend's on the way, to partake of that 
refreshment. Here, indeed, 

' Youth's free spirit, innocently gay, 
Enjoyed the most that innocence could give.' " 

Reading Lesson CCXLIV. 

Sleighing. — " In winter, the river, frozen to a great 
depth, formed the principal road through the country, 
and was the scene of all those amusements of skating and 
sledge races, common to the north of Europe. They used, 
in great parties, to visit their friends at a distance, and, 
having an excellent and hardy breed of horses, flew from 
place to place, over the snow or ice, in these sledges, with 
incredible rapidity ; stopping, a little while, at every house 
they came to, where they were always well received, 
whether acquainted with the owners or not. The night 
never impeded these travellers ; for the atmosphere was 
so pure and serene, and the snow so reflected the moon 
and starlight, that the nights exceeded the days in beauty. 

" Coasting.'" — "In town, all the hoi/s were extravagant- 
ly fond of a diversion, that to us, would appear a very odd 
and childish one. The great street of the town, in the 
midst of which, as has been formerly mentioned, stood all 
the churches and public buildings, sloped down from the 
hill on which the fort stood, towards the river ; between 
the buildings was an unpaved carriage-road, the footpath 
beside the houses being the only part of the street which 
was paved. In winter, this sloping descent, continued 
for more than a quarter of a mile, acquired firmness from 
the frost, and became extremely slippery. Then the 
amusement commenced. Every boy and youth in town, 
from eight to eighteen, had a Httle low sledge, made with 
a rope like a bridle to the front, by which one could drag 
it by the hand. On this, one or two, at most, could sit ; 
'and the sloping descent being made as smooth as a look- 
ing-glass, by sliders' sledges, &c., perhaps a hundred at 
once set out in succession, from the top of the street, each 
seated in his little sledge with the rope in his hand, which, 

Z 



530 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCXHV. 

drawn to the right or left, served to guide him. He pushed 
it off with a little stick, as one would launch a boat ; and 
then, with the most astonishing velocity, precipitated by 
the weifrht of the owner, the little machine glided past, 
and was at the lower end of the street, in an instant. 

" What could be so peculiarly delightful in this rapid 
and smooth descent, I could never discover ;* yet, in a 
more retired place, and on a smaller scale, I have tried 
the amusement; but to a young Albanian, sleighing, as 
he called it, was one of the first joys of life, though 
attended with the drawback of dragging his sledge to the 
top of the declivity, every time he renewed his flight ; for 
such it might well be called. In the managing this little 
machine, some dexterity was necessary : an unskilful 
Phaeton was sure to fall. The vehicle was so low, that 
a fall was attended with little danger, yet with much dis- 
grace ; for a universal laugh, from all sides, assailed the 
fallen charioteer. This laugh was from a very full chorus; 
for the constant and rapid succession of the train, where 
every one had a brother, lover, or kinsman, brought all 
the young people in town to the porticoes, where they 
used to sit, wrapped in furs, till ten or eleven at night, 
engrossed by the delectable spectacle. 

" What magical attraction it could possibly have, I 
never could find out ; but I have known an Albanian, 
after residing some years in Britain, and becoming a pol- 
ished fine gentleman, join the sport, and slide down with 
the rest. Perhaps, after all our laborious refinements in 
amusements, being easily pleased is one of the great 
secrets of happiness, as far as it is attainable in this ' frail 
and feverish being.' 

Winter scene on the Hudson. — " The sublime spectacle 
of the ice breaking up on the river, is an object that fills 
and elevates the mind with ideas of power, and grandeur, 
and, indeed, magnificence ; before which, all the triumphs 
of human art sink into contemptible insignificance. This 
noble object of animated greatness, for such it seemed, I 
never missed ; its approach being announced, like a loud 
and long peal of thunder, the whole population of Albany 
were down at the river-side in a moment ; and if it hap- 
pened, as was often the case, in the morning, there could 

* Mrs. Grant, we must remember, was not, in this affair, " native, 
and to the manner bom." 



rniMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 531 

not be a more grotesque assemblage. No one who had a 
nightcap on, waited to put it off; as for waiting for one's 
cK)ak, or gloves, it was a thing out of the question ; you 
caught the thing next you, that would wrap round you, 
and ran. In the way, you saw every door open, and pails, 
baskets, &c., without number, set down in the street. It 
was a perfect saturnalia. People never dreamed of be- 
ing obeyed by their slaves, till the ice was past. The 
houses were left quite empty; the meanest slave, the 
youngest child, all were to be found on the shore. Such 
as could walk, ran; and they that could not, were carried 
by those whose duty would have been to stay, and attend 
them. 

" When arrived at the shoiv-place, unlike the audience 
collected to witness any spectacle of human invention, the 
multitude, with their eyes all bent one way, stood im- 
movable, and silent as death, till the tumult ceased, and 
the mighty commotion was passed by ; then every one 
tried to give vent to the vast conceptions with which his 
mind had been distended. Every child, and every negro, 
was sure to say, 'Is not this like the day of judgment ]' 
and what they said, every one else thought. 

"Now to describe this, is impossible; but I mean to 
account, in some degree, for it. The ice, which had been, 
all winter, very thick, instead of diminishing, as might be 
exjjected, in spring, still increased, as the sunshine came, 
yid the days lengthened. Much snow fell in February, 
which, melted by the heat of the sun, was stagnant, for a 
day, on the surface of the ice, and then by the night frosts, 
which were still severe, was added, as a new accession to 
the thickness of it, above the former surface. This was 
so often repeated, that, in some years, the ice gained two 
feet in thickness, after the heat of the sun became such as 
one would have expected should have entirely dissolved 
it. So conscious were the natives of the safety this accum- 
ulation of ice afforded, that the sledges continued to drive 
on the ice, when the trees were budding, and every thing 
looked like spring; nay, when there was so much melted 
on the surface, that the horses were knee-deep in water, 
while travelling on it, and portentous cracks, on every 
side, announced the approaching rupture. This could 
scarce have been produced by the mere influence of the 
sun, till midsummer. It was the swelling of the waters 



532 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXLIV. 

under the ice, increased by rivulets, enlarged by melted 
snows, that produced this catastrophe; for such the awful 
concussion made it appear. The prelude to the general 
bursting of this mighty mass, was a fracture, lengthwise, 
in the middle of the stream, produced by the effort of the 
imprisoned waters, now increased too much to be con- 
tained within their Vvonted bounds. 

"Conceive a solid mass, from six to eight feet thick, 
bursting, for many miles, in one continued rupture, pro- 
duced by a force inconceivably great, and, in a manner, 
inexpi'essibly sudden. Thunder is no adequate image of 
this awful explosion, which roused all the sleepers, with- 
in the reach of the sound, as completely as the final con- 
vulsion of nature, and the solemn peal of the awakening 
trumpet, might be supposed to do. The stream, in sum- 
mer, was confined by a pebbly strand, overhung with high 
and steep banks, crowned with lofty trees, which were 
considered as a sacred barrier against the encroachments 
of this annual visitation. Never dryads dwelt in more 
security, than those of the vine-clad elms, that extended 
their ample branches over this mighty stieam. Their 
tangled roots, laid bare by the impetuous torrents, formed 
caverns, ever fresh and fragrant, where the most delicate 
plants flourished, unvisited by scorching suns, or nipping 
blasts ; and nothing could be more singular than the va- 
riety of plants and birds, that were sheltered in these in- 
tricate and safe recesses. ^ 

" But when the bursting of the crystal surface set loose 
the many waters that had rushed down, swollen with the 
annual tribute of dissolving snow, the islands and low 
lands were all flooded, in an instant ; and the lofty banks, 
from which you were wont to overlook the stream, were 
now entirely filled by an impetuous torrent, bearing 
down, with inciedible and tumultuous rage, immense 
shoals of ice ; which, — breaking, every instant, by the con- 
cussion of others, jammed together, in some places, in 
others, erecting themselves in gigantic heights, for an in- 
stant, in the air, and seeming to combat with their fellow- 
giants crowding on, in all directions, and falling together 
with an inconceivable crash, — formed a terrible moving 
picture, animated and various beyond conception ; for it 
was not only the cerulean ice, whose broken edges, com- 
bating with the stream, refracted light into a thousand 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 53^ 

rainbows, that charmed your attention ; lofty pines, large 
pieces of the bank, torii off' by the ice, with ail their eai'ly 
green and tender foliage, were driven on, like travelling 
islands, amid this battle of breakers; for such it seemed." 

Reading Lesson CCXLV. 

Character of the early French colonists. — " The superior 
moral and military character of the people of New York 
was, in the fii'st place, owing to a well-regulated piety, 
less concerned about forms than essentials : next, to an 
influx of other than the original settlers, which tended to 
render the general system of opinion more liberal and 
tolerant. The French protestants, driven from their na- 
tive land, by intolerant bigotry, had lived at home, ex- 
cluded alike from public employments and fashionable 
society. Deprived of so many resources that were open 
to their fellow-subjects, and forced to seek comfort, in 
piety and concord, for many privations, self-command and 
frugality had been, in a manner, forced upon them ; conse- 
quently, they were not so vain nor so volatile as to disgust; 
their new associates ; while their cheerful tempers, ac- 
commodating manners, and patience under adversity, 
were very prepossessing. These additional inhabitants, 
being such as had suffered real and extreme hardships, for 
conscience' sake, from absolute tyranny and the most cruel 
intolerance, rejoiced in the free exercise of a pure and ra- 
tional religion, and in the protection of mild and equitable 
laws, as the first of human blessings ; which privation had 
so far taught them to value, that they thought no exertion 
too great to preserve them." 

German fopulation. — " Besides the French refugees 
already spoken of, during the earliest period of the 
establishment of the British sovereignty in this part of 
the continent, a great number of the protestants, whom 
the fury of war and persecution, on religious accounts, had 
• driven from the Palatinate, — during the successful and 
desolating period of the wars carried on against that un- 
happy country, by Louis XIV, — had found refuge here. 
The subdued and contented spirit, the simple and primi- 
tive manners, and frugal, industrious habits of these 
genuine sufferers for conscience' sake, made them an ac- 
quisition to any society which received them, and a most 



534 BW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXLV. 

suitable leaven among the inhabitants of this province ; 
vs^ho, devoted to the pursuits of agriculture and the Indi&n 
trade, which encouraged a wild romantic spirit of adven- 
ture, little relished those mechanical employments, or that 
petty, yet necessary, traffic in shops, &c., to which a part 
of every regulated society must ngeds devote their atten- 
tion. 

" These civic toils were left to those patient and indus- 
trious exiles, while the friendly intercourse with the ori- 
ginal natives, had strongly tinctured the first colonists with 
many of their habits and modes of thinking. Like them, 
they delighted in hunting, — that image of war, which, so 
generally, where it is the prevalent amusement, forms the 
body to athletic force and patient endurance, and the mind 
to daring intrepidity. The timorous deer or the feeble 
hare were not alone the objects of their pursuit ; nor could 
they, in such an impenetrable country, attempt to rival the 
fox in speed or subtlety. When they kept their ' few 
sheep in the wilderness,' the she-bear, jealous for her 
young, and the wolf, furious for prey, were to be en- 
countered in their defence. From their allies, too, many 
who lived much among them, had learned that fearless ad- 
herence to truth, which exalts the mind to the noblest kind 
of resolution. 

Effects of forest Ufe. — " The dangers to which they were 
exposed, of meeting wandering individuals, or parties of 
hostile Indians, while traversing the woods, in their sport- 
ing or commercial adventures, and the necessity that some- 
times occurred of defending their families, by their own 
personal prowess, from the stolen irruptions of detached 
parties of those usually called the French Indians, had 
also given their minds a warlike bent ; and as a boy was 
not uncommonly trusted, at nine or ten years of age, with 
a light fowling-piece, which he soon learned to use with 
great dexterity, few countries could produce such dexter- 
ous marksmen, or persons so well qualified for conquering 
those natural obstacles, of thick woods and swamps, which 
would at once baffle the most determined European. Not 
only were they strong of limb, swift of foot, and excellent 
marksmen — the hatchet was as familiar to them as the 
musket ; and an amateur, who had never cut wood, but 
for his diversion, could hew down a tree with a celerity 
that would astonish and abash a professed woodcutter, in 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE, 535 

Eiigland. — In short, when means or arguments could be 
used, powerful enough to collect a people so uncontrolled 
and so uncontrollable ; and when headed by a leader 
whom they loved and trusted so much as they did colonel 
Schuyler, a well-armed body of New- York provincials had 
nothing to dread but an ague or an ambuscade, to both of 
which they were much exposed on the banks of the lakes, 
and amidst the swampy forests they had to penetrate in 
pursuit of an enemy ; of whom they might say with the 
Grecian hero, that ' tiiey wanted but daylight to conquer 
him.' " 



STYLE OF LIVING AMONG THE WEALTHY 
LANDHOLDERS OF COLONIAL NEW YORK. 

Reading Lesson GCXLVI. 

The Schuyler family. — " The house I have so much de- 
light in recollecting, had no pretension to grandeur, and 
very little to elegance. It was a large brick house of two, or 
rather three, stories ; for there were excellent attics, besides 
a sunk story, finished with the exactest neatness. The lower 
floor had two spacious rooms, with large light closets ; on 
the first, there were three rooms, and, in the upper one, 
four. Through the middle of the house was a very wide 
passage, with opposite front and back doors, which, in 
summer, admitted a streain of air, peculiarly grateful to 
tbe languid senses. It was furnished with chairs and pic- 
tures, like a summer parlor. Here the family usually sat 
in hot weather, when there were no ceremonious stran- 
gers. 

" Valuable furniture, — though perhaps not very well 
chosen or assorted, — was the favorite luxury of these 
people ; and in all the houses I remember, except those 
of the brothers, who were every way more liberal, the 
mirrors, the paintings, the china, but, above all, the state- 
bed, were considered as the family Teraphim, secretly 
worshipped, and only exhibited on very rare occasions. 
But, in colonel Schuyler's family, the rooms were merely 
shut up to keep the flies, which in that country are an 



636 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CCXLVI. 

absolute nuisance, from spoiling the furniture. Another 
motive was, that they might be pleasantly cool, when 
opened for company. 

" This house had also two appendages, common to all 
those belonging to persons in easy circumstances there. 
One was a large portico at the door, with a few ste.ps 
leading up to it, and floored like a room ; it was open at 
the sides, and had seats all round. Above, was either a 
slight wooden roof, painted like an awning, or a covering 
of lattice-work, over which a transplanted wild vine spiead 
its luxuriant leaves and numerous clusters. The grapes, 
though small, and rather too acid, till sweetened by the 
frost, had a beautiful appearance. What gave an air of 
liberty and safety to these rustic porticoes, which always 
produced in my mind a sensation of pleasure that I know 
not how to define, was the number of little birds domes- 
ticated there. For their accommodation, there was a 
small shelf built within the portico, where they nestled 
safely from the touch of slaves and children, who were 
taught to regard them as the good genii of the place, not 
to be disturbed with impunity. 

" I do not recollect sparrows there, except the wood- 
sparrow. These little birds were of various kinds pe- 
culiar to the country ; but the one most frequent and 
familiar, was a pretty little creature, of a bright cinnamon 
color, called a wren, though faintly resembling the one 
to which we give that name, for it is more sprightly, and 
flies higher. Of these and other small birds, hundreds 
gave and received protection, around this hospitable dwell- 
ing. The protection they received, coTisisted merely in 
the privilege of being let alone. That which they be- 
stowed, was of more importance than any inhabitant of 
Great Britain can imagine. 

" In these new countries, where man has scarce asserted 
his dominion, life swarms abundantly on every side; the 
insect population is numerous, beyond belief; and the birds 
that feed on them, are in proportion to their abundance. 
In process of time, as their sheltering woods are cleared, 
all these recede before their masters, but not until his 
empire is fully established. Such minute aerial foes, are 
more harassing than the terrible inhabitants of the forest, 
and more difficult to expel. It is only by protecting, and 
in some sort, domesticating, these little winged allies, who 



PRIMITIVE COLOMAL, LIFE. 537 

attack them in their own element, that the conqueror of 
the lion and tamer of the elephant, can hope to sleep in 
peace, or eat his meals unpolluted. 

" While breakfasting or drinking tea in the airy por- 
tico, which was often the scene of these meals, birds were 
constantly gliding over the table, with a butterfly, grass- 
hopper, or cicada in their bills, to feed their young, who 
were chirping above. These familiar inmates brushed 
by, without ceremony; while the chimney-swallow, the 
marten, and other hirundines, in countless numbers, darted 
past, in pursuit of this aerial population, and the fields 
resounded with the ceaseless chirping of many insects 
unknown to our more temperate summers. These were 
now and then mingled with the animated and not unpleas- 
ing cry of the tree-frog, a creature of that species, but of a 
light, slender form, almost transparent, and of a lively 
green : it is dry to the touch, and has not the dank moist- 
ure of its aquatic relations ; in short, it is a pretty, lively 
creature, with a singular and cheerful note. This loud, 
and not unpleasing insect-chorus, with the swarms of gay 
butterflies in constant motion, enliven scenes to which the 
prevalence of woods, rising ' shade above shade,' on every 
side, would otherwise give a still and solemn aspect. 

" Several objects, which, with us, are no small addi- 
tion to the softened changes and endless charms of rural 
scenery, it must be confessed, are wanting there. No 
lark welcomes the sun that rises to gild the dark forest 
and gleaming lakes of America ; no mellow thrush nor 
deep-toned blackbird warbles through these awful soli- 
tudes, or softens the balmy hour of twilight with 

' The liquid language of the groves.' 

" Twilight itself, the mild and shadowy hour, so sooth- 
ing to every feeling, every pensive mind ; that soft transi- 
tion from day to night, so dear to peace, so due to medi- 
tation, is here scarce known, at least, only known to have 
its shortness regretted. No daisy hastens to meet the 
spring, or embellishes the meads in summer : here no 
purple heath exhales its wholesome odor, or decks the 
arid waste with the chastened glow of its waving bells. 
No honny broom, such as enlivens the narrow vales of 
Scotland with its gaudy blow, nor flowering furze with 
its golden blossoms, defying the cold blasts of early 

z* 



538 NEW-VORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCXLVII. 

spring, animates their sandy wilds. There the white- 
blossomed sloe does not forerun the orchard's bloom, nor 
the pale primrose shelter its modest head beneath the 
tangled shrubs. Nature, bountiful, yet not profuse, has 
assigned her vaiTOUs gifts to various climes, in such a 
manner that none can claim a decided preeminence ; and 
every country has peculiar charms, which endear it to the 
natives beyond any other. — I have been tempted, by lively 
recollections into a digression rather unwarrantable." 

Reading Lesson CCXLVII. 

Deseription of the family mansion of the Schuyler s, con- 
tinued. — "At the back of the large house, was a smaller 
and lovver one, so joined to it as to make the form of a 
cross. There, one or two smaller rooms below, and 
the same number above, afforded a refuge to the family 
during the rigors of winter, when the spacious summer- 
rooms would have been intolerably cold, and the smoke 
of prodigious wood fires would have sullied the elegantly 
clean furniture. Here, too, was a sunk story, where the 
kitchen was immediately below the eating-parlor, and 
increased the general warmth of the house. 

" In summer, the negroes inhabited slight outer kitch- 
ens, in which food was dressed for the family. Those 
who wrought in the fields, often had their simple dinner 
cooked without, and ate it under the shade of a great 
tree. 

" One room, I should have said, in the great house only, 
was opened for the reception of company ; all the rest 
were bedchambers for their accommodation ; the domes- 
tic friends of the family occupying neat little bedrooms in 
the attics, or in the winter-house. This house contained 
no drawing-room ; that was an unheard-of luxury : the 
winter-rooms had carpets ; the lobby had oilcloth painted 
in lozenges, to imitate blue and white marble. The best 
bedroom was hung with family portraits, some of which 
were admirably executed ; and, in the eating-room, which, 
by the by, was rarely used for that purpose, were some 
fine scripture-paintings ; that which made the greatest 
impression on my imagination, and seemed to be univer- 
sally admired, was one of Esau coming to demand the 
anticipated blessing ; the noble, manly figure of the luck- 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 539 

less hunter, and the anguish expressed in his comely, 
though strong-featured countenance, I shall never forget. 

" The house fronted the river, on the banks of which, 
under shades of elm and sycamore, ran the great road 
towards Saratoga, Stillwater, and the northern lakes ; a 
little, simple avenue of morella cherry-trees, enclosed with 
a white rail, led to the road and river, not three hundred 
yards distant. Adjoining to this, on the south side, was 
an enclosure subdivided into three parts, of which the 
first was a small hay-field opposite the south end of the 
house; the next, not so long, a garden; and the third, 
by far the largest, an orchard. These were surrounded 
by simple deal-fences. 

" Now let not the genius that presides over pleasure- 
grounds, nor any of his elegant votaries, revolt with dis- 
gust, while I mention the unseemly ornaments which 
were exhibited on the stakes to which the deals of these 
same fences were bound. Truly, tliey consisted of the 
skeleton heads of horses and cattle, in as gi'eat numbers 
as could be procured, stuck upon the abovesaid poles. 
This was not mere ornament either, but a most hospitable 
arrangement for the accommodation of the small famil- 
iar birds before described. The jaws are fixed on the 
pole, and the skull uppermost. The wren, on seeing a 
skull thus placed, never fails to enter by the orifice, which 
is too small to admit the hand of an infant, lines the per- 
icranium with small twigs and horsehair, and there lays 
her eggs, in full secuiity. It is very amusing to see the 
little creature carelessly go out and in, at this aperture, 
though you should be standing immediately beside it. 
Not satisfied with providing these singular asylums for 
their feathered friends, the negroes never fail to make a 
small round hole in every old hat they can lay their hands 
on, and nail it to the end of the kitchen, for the same pur- 
pose. You often see, in such a one, at once, thirty or 
forty of these odd little domicils, with the inhabitants 
busily going out and in. 

" Besides all these salutary provisions for the domestic 
comfort of the birds, there was, in clearing the way for 
their first establishment, a tree always left in the middle 
of the back-yard, for their sole emolument ; this tree 
being purposely pollarded at midsummer, when all the 
branches were full of sap. Wherever there had been a 



540 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK-LESSON CCXLVIII. 

branch, the decay of the inside produced a hole ; and 
every hole was the habitation of a bird. These were of 
various kinds : some had a pleasing note, but, on the 
whole, their songsters are far inferior to ours. I rather 
dwell on these minutiae, as they not only mark the pecu- 
liarities of the country, but convey, very truly, the image 
of a people not too refined for happiness, which, in the 
process of elegant luxury, is apt to die of disgust." 

Reading Lesson CCXLVIII. 

A " Dutc?i" ham. — "Adjoining to the orchard was the 
most spacious barn I ever beheld ; which I shall describe 
for the benefit of such of my readers as have never seen 
a building constructed on a plan so comprehensive. This 
barn, which, as will hereafter appear, answered many 
beneficial purposes, besides those usually allotted for such 
edifices, was of a vast size, at least a hundred feet long, 
and sixty wide. The roof rose to a very great height, in 
the midst, and sloped down till it came within ten feet 
of the ground, when the walls commenced ; which, like 
the whole of this vast fabric, were formed of wood. It 
was raised three feet from the ground, by beams resting 
on stone ; and, on these beams, was laid, in the middle 
of the building, a very massive oak floor. Before the 
door was a large sill, sloping downwards, of the same 
materials. A breadth of about twelve feet on each side 
of this capacious building, was divided off for cattle : on 
one side, ran a manger, at the above-mentioned distance 
from the wall, the whole length of the building, with a 
rack above it; on the other, were stalls for the other 
cattle, running also the whole length of the building. 
The cattle and horses stood with their tails turned to 
the wall, and their heads towards the thrashing floor. 
There was a prodigious large box, or open chest, in one 
side, built up for holding the corn after it was thrashed; 
and the roof, which was very lofty and spacious, was 
supported by large cross-beams. From one to the other 
of these was stretched a great number of long poles, so 
as to form a sort of open loft, on which the whole rich 
crop was laid up. The floor of those parts of the barn, 
which answered the purposes of a stable and cow-house, 
was made of thick slab deals, laid loosely over the sup- 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 541 

porting beams. And the»mode of cleaning those places 
was by turning the boards, and permitting the litter to 
fall into the receptacles left open below, for the purpose ; 
thence, in spring, it was often driven down to the river ; 
the soil, in its original state, not requiring the aid of 
manure. In the front* of this vast edifice, there were 
prodigious folding-doors, and two others that opened 
behind. 

" Certainly never did cheerful rural toils wear a more 
exhilarating aspect, tban while the domestics were lodg- 
ing the luxuriant harvest in this capacious repository. 
When speaking of the doors, I should have mentioned 
that they were made in the gable ends; those in the back 
equally large to correspond with those in the front; while, 
on each side of the great doors, were smaller ones, for the 
cattle and horses to enter. Whenever the corn or hay 
was reaped or cut, and ready for carrying home, which, 
in that dry and warm climate, happened in a very few 
days, a wagon loaded with hay, for instance, was driven 
into the midst of this great barn ; loaded also with num- 
berless large grasshoppers, butterflies, and cicadas, which 
came along with the hay. From the top of the wagon, 
this was immediately forked up into the loft of the barn, 
in the midst of which was an open space, left for the pur- 
pose ; and then the unloaded wagon drove, in rustic state, 
out of the great door at the other end. In the meantime, 
every member of the family witnessed or assisted in this 
summary process ; by which the building and thatching 
of stacks was at once saved ; and the whole crop and 
cattle were thus compendiously lodged under one roof. 

" The cheerfulness of this animated scene, was much 
heightened by the quick appearance and vanishing of 
the swallows, which twittered among their high-built 
dwellings in the roof. Here, as in every other instance, 
the safety of these domestic friends was attended to, and 
an abode provided for them. In the front of this barn 
were many holes, like those of a pigeon-house, for the 
accommodation of the marten, — that being the species to 
which this kind of home seems most congenial ; and, in 
the inside of the barn, I have counted above fourscore at 
once. In the winter, when the earth was buried deep in 
new-fallen snow, and no path fit for walking in was left, 
* By the frout is meaut the gable end, which contains the entrance. 



542 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCXLVIII. 

this barn was like a great gallery, well suited for that 
purpose ; and furnished with pictures not unpleasing to a 
simple and contented mind. 

" As you walked through this long area, looking up, 
you beheld the abundance of the year treasured above 
you ; on one side, tlie comely heads of your snorting 
steeds presented themselves, arranged in seemly order u 
on the other, your kine displayed their meeker visages, 
while the perspective, on either, was terminated by 
heifers and fillies, no less interesting. In the midst, your 
servants exercised the flail, and, even while they thrashed 
out the straw, distributed it to the expectants on both 
sides; while the ' liberal handful' was occasionally thrown 
to the many-colored poultry on the sill. Winter itself 
never made this abode of life and plenty cold and cheer- 
less. Here you might walk, and view all your subjects, 
and their means of support, at one glance ; except, in- 
deed, the sheep, for which a large and commodious 
building was erected very near the barn ; the roof con- 
taining a loft large enough to hold hay sufiicient for their 
winter's food. 

" Colonel Schuyler's barn was by far the largest I 
have ever seen ; but all of them, in that country, weie 
constructed on the same plan, furnished with the same 
accommodation, and presented the same cheering aspect. 
The orchard, as I formerly mentioned, was on the south 
side of the barn; on the north, a little farther back to- 
wards the wood, which formed a dark screen behind this 
smiling prospect, there was an enclosure, in which the 
remains of the deceased members of the family were de- 
posited. A field of pretty large extent, adjoining to the 
house on that side, remained uncultivated and unen- 
closed ; over it were scattered a few large apple-trees 
of a peculiar kind, the fruit of which was never appro- 
priated. This piece of level and productive land, so near 
the family mansion, and so adapted to various and useful 
purposes, was never occupied, but left open as a public 
benefit. 

" From the known liberality of this munificent family, 
all Indians, or new settlers, on their journey, whether 
they came by land or water, rested here. The military, 
in passing, always formed a camp on this common ; and 
here the Indian wigwams were often planted ; here all 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 543 

manner of garden-stuff, fruit, and milk, were plentifully- 
distributed to wanderers of all .descriptions. Every 
summer, for many years, there was an encampment, 
either of regular or provincial troops, on this common ; 
and often, when the troops proceeded northward, a little 
colony of helpless women and children, belonging to 
, them, was left, in a great measure, dependent on the 
compassion of these worthy patriarchs ; for such the 
brothers might be justly called." 

Reading Lesson CCXLIX. 

The Johnson family . — " By the advice of the Schuylers, 
there was now, on the Mohawk river, a superintendent of 
Indian affairs ; the importance of which charge began to 
be fully understood. He was regularly appointed and 
paid by government. This was the justly celebrated Sir 
William Johnson, who held an office difficult both to de- 
fine and execute. He might, indeed, be called the tribune 
of the Five Nations : their claims he asserted, their rights 
he protected ; and over their minds he possessed a greater 
sway than any other individual had ever attained. 

" He was indeed calculated to conciliate and retain the 
affections of this brave people ; possessing, in common 
with them, many of those peculiarities of mind and man- 
ners that distinguished them from others. He was an un- 
commonly tall, well-made man, with a fine countenance ; 
which, however, had rather an expression of dignified se- 
dateness, approaching to melancholy. He appeared to 
be taciturn, never wasting words on matters of no im- 
portance, but highly eloquent when the occasion called 
forth his powers. He possessed intuitive sagacity, and 
the most entire command of temper and of countenance. 

" He did, by no means, lose sight of his own interest, but, 
on the contrary, raised himself to power and wealth, in an 
open and active manner; not disdaining any honorable 
means of benefiting himself. But, at the same time, the bad 
policy, as well as meanness of sacrificing respectability, to 
snatching at petty, present advantages, were so obvious to 
him, that he laid the foundation of his future prosperity 
on the broad and deep basis of honorable dealing, accom- 
panied by the most vigilant attention to the objects he had 
in view ; acting so as, without the least departure from 



544 NEW-YOIIK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXLIX. 

integrity on the one hand, or inattention to his affairs on 
the other, to give, by his manner of conducting himself, 
an air of magnanimity to his character, that made him the 
object of universal confidence. 

" He purchased from the Indians, — having the grant 
confirmed by his sovereign, — a large and fertile tract of 
land upon the Mohawk river; where, having cleared and 
cultivated the ground, he built two spacious and conve- 
nient places of residence ; known afterwards by the names 
of Johnson Castle, and Johnson Hall. The first was on 
a fine eminence, stockaded round, and slightly fortified ; 
the last was built on the site of the river, on a most fertile 
and delightful plain, surrounded with an ample and well- 
cultivated domain; and that, again, encircled by European 
settlers, who had first come there as architects, or work- 
men, and had been induced by Sir William's liberality, 
and the singular beauty of the district, to continue. 

" His trade with the Five Nations, was very much for their 
advantage; he supplying them on more equitable terms 
than any trader, and not indulging the excesses in regard 
to strong liquors, which others were too easily induced to 
do. The castle contained the store in which all goods 
meant for the Indian traffic were laid up, and all the pel- 
try received in exchange. The hall was his summer resi- 
dence, and the place round wliich his greatest improve- 
ments were made. 

" Here this singular man lived like a little sovereign ; 
kept an excellent table for strangers, and officers, whom 
the course of their duty now frequently led into these 
wilds ; and, by confiding entirely in the Indians, and 
treating them with unvaried truth and justice, without 
ever yielding to solicitation what he had once refused, he 
taught them to repose entire confidence in him ; he, in his 
turn, became attached to them, wore, in winter, almost en- 
tirely, their dress and ornaments, and contracted a kind of 
alliance with them ; for, becoming a widower, in the prime 
of life, he had connected himself with an Indian maiden, 
daughter to a sachem, who possessed an uncommonly 
agreeable person, and good understanding; and, whether 
ever formally married to him, according to our usage, or 
not, contrived to live with him, in great union and affec- 
tion, all his life. 

" So perfect was his dependence on those people, whom 



PRIMITIVE COLONIAL LIFE. 545 

his fortitude and other manly virtues had attached to him, 
that when they returned from their summer excui'sions, 
and exchanged the last year's furs for fire-arms, &c., they 
used to pass a few days at the castle, when his family and 
most of his domestics were down at the hall. There they 
wei'e all liberally entertained by their friend ; and five 
hundred of them have been known, for nights together, 
after drinking pretty freely, to lie around him on the 
floor, while he was the only white person in a house con- 
taining great quantities of every thing that was to them 
valuable or desirable. 

" While Sir William thus united in his mode of life, the 
calm urbanity of a liberal and extensive trader, with the 
splendid hospitality, the numerous attendance, and the 
plain though dignified manners of an ancient baron, the 
female part of his family were educated in a manner so 
entirely dissi/nilar from that of all other young people of 
their sex and station, that as a matter of curiosity, it is 
worthy a recital. These two young ladies, his daughters, 
inherited, in a great measure, the personal advantages and 
strength of understanding for which their father was so 
distinguished. Their mother dying when they were 
young, bequeathed the care of them to a friend. This 
friend was the widow of an officer who had fallen in bat- 
tle ; I am not sure whether she was devout, and shunned 
the world, for fear of its pollution, or romantic, and de- 
spised its selfish, bustling spirit: but so it was, that she 
seemed utterly to forget it, and devoted herself to her 
fair pupils. To these she taught needlework of the most 
elegant and ingenious kinds, reading, and writing : thus 
quietly passed their childhood; their monitress not taking 
the smallest concern in family management, nor, indeed, the 
least interest in any worldly thing but themselves : far less 
did she inquire about the fashions or diversions which pre- 
vailed in a world she had renounced; and from which she 
seemed to wish her pupils to remain forever estranged. 

" Never was any thing so uniform as their dress, their 
occupations, and the general tenor of their lives. In the 
morning, they rose early, read their pi'ayer-book, I believe, 
but certainly their Bible, fed their birds, tended their flow- 
ers, and breakfasted ; then they were employed, for some 
hours, with unwearied perseverance, at fine needlewoi-k, 
for the ornamental parts of dress, which were the fashion 



546 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCXLIX. 

of the day, without knowing to what use they were to be 
put, as they never wore them; and had not, at the age of 
sixteen, ever seen a lady, excepting each other and their 
governess ; they then read, as long as they chose, either 
the voluminous romances of the last century, of which their 
friend had an ample collection, or Rollin's ancient history, 
the only books they had ever seen ; after dinner, they reg- 
ularly, in summer, took a long walk ; or an excursion in | 
the sledge, in winter, with their friend ; and then returned 
and resumed their wonted occupations, with the sole varia- 
tion of a stroll in the garden, in summer, and a game at 
chess, or shuttlecock, in winter. 

" Their dress was, to the full, as simple and uniform as 
every thing else ; they wore wrappers of the finest chintz, 
over green silk under dresses ; and this, the whole year 
round, without variation. Their hair, which was long 
and beautiful, was tied behind with a simple riband ; a 
large calash shaded each from the sun ; and, in winter, 
they had long scarlet mantles, that covered them from 
head to foot. Their father did not live with them, but 
visited them, every day, in their apartment. This inno- 
cent and uniform life they led till the death of their moni- 
tress, which happened when the eldest was not quite sev- 
enteen. 

" These ladies married officers, who, in succession, lived 
aid-de-camps with their father. Their manners soon grew 
easy; they readily acquired the habits of society, and made 
excellent wives."* 

* Farther mention of these ladies, occurs, on page 555, in an ex- 
tract from Mr. Watson. 



NOTICES 

OF EARLY SETTLEMENTS, INLAND TOWNS, 
AND VILLAGES. 

Reading Lesson CCL. 

Introductory remarks. 

The following interesting items of information, are ex- 
tracted from the recent edition of Mr. John F. Watson's 
entertaining and instructive work, entitled Annals and 
Occurrences of New York City and State, in the Olden 
Time. By the author's kind pei'mission, we are enabled 
to present to our readers some of the valuable results of 
his indefatigable labors in the field of our local antiquities. 
His volume offers a rich fund of traditional anecdote, from 
w^hich the readers of our own pages may, in future hours 
of leisure, derive not only amusement, but much useful 
knowledge regarding facts and events connected with the 
progress of the city and state of New York. 

Places on or near the Hudson. — " For many years after 
the first settlement, Albany constituted the remotest point 
of interior civilization and improvement. Even as late as 
the war of independence, the present flourishing towns of 
Troy and Lansingburgh were scarcely named. Saratoga 
Springs and Ballston, now so famed and so fashionable, 
were in their original barrens. 

" Kinderhook, Esopus, and Rhinebeck, were among the 
earliest Dutch settlements along the banks of the Hudson. 
They are mentioned as early as 1651, by Joost Hartgers ; 
and,*in 1656, by Van der Donck. 

" Saratoga Springs are situated in what was the Mo- 
hawks' country. They were discovered by a party of 
surveyors, in 1770, while the country was still a wilder- 
ness. Our troops at Saratoga, in the revolutionary war, 
used them : but the earliest regular notice of them was in 
a communication of Dr. Tanney of the army, who, in Sep- 
tember, 1783, writing to a scientific society, said, 'I think 



548 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCL. 

they only want a suitable introduction to the world, and 
some convenient houses for boarding and lodging patients, 
to render them of important service to the country.' 

" It is supposed that the Indians knew and used them, 
before the whites. 

Hudson city. — " Some Scotch presbyterians went out 
early under the auspices of the Livingston family. At the 
first settlement of Albany, Livingston was secretary to the 
Dutch government, his family being, at the same time, 
Brownists in Holland, from Scotland. I have seen an 
autograph letter of his mother, to his address, wi'itten from 
Amsterdam, when in the eightieth year of her age, and 
providing therein, for his receiving out fifty of that people 
at a time, as his working men, to serve seven years apiece, 
for only food and raiment ; — all for the sake of freedom 
of conscience. The Livingston family settled near Hud- 
son city ; and one of the Livingstons, (Robert.) in later 
years, (1752,) took up 300,000 acres of forest land, ex- 
tending from Esopus to the Delaware river. 

"Hudson city is but a modern affair; having been, till 
the year 1784, cultivated as a farm. It was then pur- 
chased by a few enterprising persons of capital, from the 
eastward, chiefly for the purpose of conducting, there, 
the whale fishery to the Pacific ocean. Such was its rapid 
progress, that, in two years, there were as many as one 
hundi-ed and fifty dwelling-houses erected. 

" NewbuT'g existed before the revolution ; and, being 
a place beautifully situated, and not far from West Point, 
it was occasionally made a place of visit and relaxation, 
by general Washington, and other superior officers serv- 
ing at that post. 

*' The Hasbrouck House, at Newburg, — though but of 
one story, — acquired eminence, as having been the humble 
quarters of general Washington. Though low in roof, it 
covered ground enough to contain many rooms. There, 
were received and entertained by the general, many dis- 
tinguished men and officers of the revolution. 

" When general Washington was at West Point and 
Newburg, in 1779, he wrote a facetious letter to Dr. 
Cochran, the director general of the hospitals, which will 
show a specimen of the homely fare of his table, and 
serve as a vestige of the Hasbrouck house and its con- 
comitants. 



EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 549 

' West Point, August 16th, 1779. 
' Dear Doctor, 

' I have asked Mrs. Cochran and Mrs. Livingston, to 
dine with me to-morrow ; but ought I not to apprise you 
of their fare *? As I hate deception, even when imagina- 
tion is concerned, I will. 

' It is needless to premise that my table is large enough 
to hold the ladies: of this they had ocular demonstration, 
yesterday. To say how it is usually covered, is rather 
more essential ; and this shall be the purport of my 
letter. 

' Since my arrival at this happy spot, we have had a 
ham, sometimes a shoulder of bacon, to grace the head 
of the table. A piece of roast beef adorns the foot, and 
a small dish of green beans — almost imperceptible — dec- 
orates the centre. When the cook has a mind to cut a 
figure; and this, I presume, he will attempt to-morrow; we 
have two beef-steak pies, or dishes of crabs, in addition ; 
one on each side of the centre dish, dividing the space, 
and reducing the distance between dish and dish, to about 
six feet, which, without them, would be nearly twelve 
apart. Of late, he has had the surprising luck to discover 
that apples will make pies ; and it is a question if, amidst 
the violence of his efforts, we do not get one of apples, 
instead of having both of beef. 

' If the ladies can put up with such entertainment, and 
submit to partake of it on plates, once tin, but now iron — 
not become so, by the labor of scouring — I shall be happy 
to see them. 

* Dear sir, yours, 

George Washington.' " 

Reading Lesson CCLI. 

Places on or near the Mohawlc. — " The Mohawk river, 
extending far westward, through a narrow and long valley 
of fruitful soil, presented the earliest allurement for agri- 
cultural purposes, inland ; and yet it was not until after the 
war of independence that it began to be sought after, by 
white men. Filled, as its valley now is, with a prosperous 
and wealthy population; planted with numerous thriving 
villages ; traced along its margin by the recent grand canal ; 
and made the line of the grand tour to Niagara, by numer- 



550 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CCLL 

ous passengers from the ojiulent sea-board cities ; yet it 
was not far beyond the period of that war, when it was 
still the beaver country of the aborigines, or the site of 
their wigwams ; and the general region of country, their 
hunting-ground, through which ranged bears, foxes, wolves, 
deer, and other game. The Indians themselves called the 
lands Couxsachraga — the dismal wilderness. 

" Men were still alive, in 1830, who, in the time of the 
revolutionary war, were at the defence of several of its 
military redoubts, as frontier posts. Mr. Parrish, Indian 
agent, — resident at Canandaigua, in the year last men- 
tioned, — was with a predatory party of Indians, as a pris- 
oner, when they came into the neighborhood of the 
present town of Herkimer, only eighty miles west of Al- 
bany. Colonel Fry, of Canajoharie, above ninety years 
of age, still alive at the same date, was commissary for 
these outposts, in the ' old French war.' In his vicinity, — . 
at the town of Mohawk, but thirty-six miles west of Al- 
bany, at the junction of the Schoharie creek with the river 
Mohawk, — is the old Mohawk town ; and their old church, 
still there, is the same built as a missionary station, in the 
reign of queen Anne ; having fort Hunter to cover and 
defend it from predatory enemies. At this very place, 
the Mohawks were actually dwelling, as a nation, until 
the year 1780. 

" Not far from the Little Falls, now so romantic and 
picturesque, by reason of its rocky rapids and the expen- 
sive constructions for the canal along its margin, once 
stood the advance post of fort Herkimer. An old church 
near it, was, in 1830, still standing, which was used as a 
place of defence against an Indian assault, even in the 
time of the revolution. From the village of Herkimer up 
to Canada creek, — a distance of fourteen miles, — are the 
very picturesque lands, embracing, now, the present fash- 
ionable resoTt and elegant place of entertainment, called 
Trenton Falls, which were once given by king Hendrick, 
'our good ally,' to general Sir Williain Johnson. King 
Hendrick himself lived at Indian Castle, on the Mohawk 
river, sixty-six miles from Albany. 

JJtica. — "At the present flourishing city of Utica, only 
ninety-five miles west of Albany, once the site of old fort 
Schuyler, the settlement is so recent that, in 1794, it had 
but two houses ; and, in 1785, the whole region of country 



EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 551 

had but two families, dwelling in log houses, as advance 
pioneers. 

Pioneers of Utica. — " When Utica first began its career, 
John Jacob Astor, and Peter Smith, travelled the ground 
from Schenectady to Utica, purchasing furs at the Indian 
settlements on the route. The Indians aided them in 
carrying them back to Schenectady. They opened a 
store in New York city, for their sale ; and when their 
stock was exhausted, they again penetrated the lonely 
forests of the frontiers, and replenished their store. Astor 
continued his business many years, but Smith commenced 
the purchase of land, and died at Schenectady, very 
rich. 

" Summers went and came ; and wave after wave of 
emigration, rolled up the long defile of the Mohawk. 
Mark the change — Judge Smith died, leaving millions of 
acres to his heirs, but lived long enough, to travel from 
Schenectady to Utica, in four hours. And, to-day, when 
the sun's evening rays shall hide from the uudimmed eye 
of John Jacob Astor, behind the blue hills of Jersey, its 
vertical beams will be falling on his fur-traders of our new 
limit, the mouth of the Oregon. Bishop Berkeley never 
dreamed of such changes, when he penned the line, — 

' Westward the star of empire takes its way.' 

" The name of the late judge Peter Smith, — father of 
Gerritt Smith, of Peterboro', stands in an interesting- con- 
nection with the first white settlement in central New 
York, and especially with the small begiimings of the city 
of Utica. 

" In the year 1787, judge Smith, not yet twenty years 
of age, left his clerkship in the store of Abraham Herring, 
an importing merchant in the city of New York, to seek 
his fortune, inland. He went to Fall Hill, near the village 
of Little Falls, and opened a store. The following year, 
he built a log store at fort Schuyler, — now Utica. The 
ground for it, which was, in 1830, a part of that occupied 
by Bagg's Tavern, he leased of the widow Dayrauth, at 
the annual rent of a pound of holiea tea ! There were, at 
that time, three other log, but no frame buildings, at foit 
Schuyler. 

" It is worthy of mention, that, in the early times of 
which we are speaking, Mr. Astor was associated with 



552 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLIL 

his friend Peter Smith, in the purchase of furs from the 
Indians, and, also, in the purchase of various tracts of 
land. Mr. Astor cherishes lively and pleasant reminis- 
cences of their visit to Oneida castle, and other groups of 
Indian habitations in its vicinity. It is hardly probable, 
that it was amongst the dreams of the business efforts of 
these young gentlemen, that one of them should acquire 
one of the largest estates, and the other, the very largest! 
estate, ever acquired in this country. 

" Judge Smith frankly confessed that he was indebted 
to the Oneida Indians for a large share of his wealth. He 
spoke their language fluently, and had great influence 
with them. The steady friendship for him, of their dis- 
tinguished chief, Skenandon, who died, very aged, in 1815, 
induced the judge to name his eldest son Skenandon; — a 
circumstance which added to the family influence, with! 
those warm-hearted sons of the forest." 

Reading Lesson CCLII. 

Military lands. — " As we leave Utica, we enter upon 
the ' New York military lands,' containing twenty-eight 
townships, severally ten miles square ; ' the proud and 
splendid monument of the gratitude of New York to her 
revolutionary heroes ; giving to each of her soldiers, five 
hundred and fifty acres of lands, now so valuable.' The 
very gift of such lands, since the revolution, for services 
then performed, is, itself, the evidence of the recent culti- 
vation of all those districts, now so essentially adding to 
the aggrandizement of this great state. Had the poor 
soldiers been individually benefited by this generosity, 
and had their descendants found an easy home on the 
soil, the reflection would be much more grateful ; but 
rapacious speculators, in most instances, were the bene- 
ficiaries. 

Phelps's purchase. — " Those military lands extended as 
far west as the Seneca lake, at which place begins the 
eastern boundary of that great purchase of the celebrated 
pioneer, Oliver Phelps, who, in 1787, purchased the im- 
mense and unexplored wilds of the west, from the line 
of that lake, to the west boundary of the state, compris- 
ing a mass o? six millions of acres, for the inconsiderable 
sum, as we now think it, of one million of dollars. To 



EARLY SETTLE.MEiNTS. 553 

this Cecrops, this primary adventurer, the people of the 
west owe a lasting monument of gratitude and praise, 
for his successful efforts in opening to them and their 
, children, their happy Canaan. 

" In the year 17SS, Phelps first penetrated the wilder- 
ness, taking his departure from Herkimer, the then most 
advanced settlement ; and going thence, one hundred and 
thirty miles, through wilds and Indian hunting-grounds, 
to an Indian settlement, the present Canandaigua, a 
name then importing cliosen jylacc, where he held a treaty 
with the Six Nations, and purchased from them, their 
grant to the same, as far as to the Genesee river. In 
the next year, he opened his land office in that town, the 
first in America, for the sale of forest lands to settlers, — 
giving a model, since adopted, for selling all new lands 
in the United States, by ' townships and ranges.' 

" In 1790, Phelps sold out li millions of his grant, to 
Robert Morris, the celebrated financier, for only S^Z. an 
acre: the latter sold it to Sir W. Pulteney, whose land 
office is now opened at Geneva and Bath. In 1796, 
Robert Morris made a farther purchase, of about two 
thirds of the western pait ; a part of which he sold out 
to the Holland land company, which company, in 1801, 
opened their land office at Batavia. 

" Canandaigua and Geneva, — now elegant towns, so 
delightfully placed by their several picturesque lakes, — 
had all their first houses constructed of logs. But, wild 
as the country was, it was all traversed in the summer 
of 1792-3, by the present Louis Philippe, king of France, 
and his two brothers, on horseback, making their rest, 
•for a short time, at Canandaigua, at the house of Thomas 
Morris. 

" Finally, such was the early history of a woody waste 
of country, so little valued then, and nov/ so populous and 
productive. Through such regions, original settlers made 
their way, with families, cattle, provisions, wagons, and 
carts; crossing waters without bridges; sleeping and eat- 
ing in forests ; and, finally, dwelling without shelter, until 
they could build a log house and home. The obstacles, 
and hazards, and perils, which beset a pioneer family, 
going through a wilderness of hundreds of miles; their 
constructing of rafts and canoes, at water courses ; their 
swimming of horses, oxen, sheep, and hogs ; their occa- 

A A 



554 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLIII. 

sional mishaps and losses ; their hopes and fears ; alto- 
gether, might form an eventful tale of truth.* 

" In the very midst of those great purchases of Phelps, 
and where his earliest efforts were concentred, is now 
the great and prosperous city of Rochester, filled with 
wealth, and luxury, and elegance ; having a population, 
in 1827, of eight thousand persons, and not one adult, a 
native of the place; for then, the oldest person living, 
born in the place, was not seventeen years of age. The 
site was originally given to Phelps, by the Indians, as a 
mill-seat, in allusion to which they called him Kauskon- 
chicos, ' waterfall.' The very territory in which it was 
situated, was, but forty years ago, the hunting-ground of 
such remnants of the Six Nations, as survived the chastise- 
ment of general Sullivan ; and many a veteran warrior is 
still alive, on the neighboring reservations of Canawagus, 
Tonawanda, and Tuscarora, to recount to his surviving 
sons, the exploits of his meridian vigor, when not a white 
man's axe had been lifted in all their forests! 

" Buffalo, too, now a second time a city, and aspiring 
to be the ' New York of the lake,' was only a frontier 
fort, at which were assembled, in 1796, ybr the last time, 
in treaty, with one thousand Indians, the last remains of 
the once mighty Six Nations. There, they then relin- 
quished to us their feeble claims to their once vast do- 
mains !" 

Reading Lesson CCLIII. 

Johnstown. — " This place, near the Mohawk, was 
chosen as the home and settlement of Sir William John- 
son, created a baronet, with a gift of five thousand pounds 
sterling, in consideration of his usefulness in bringing the 
' old French war' to a successful termination. 

" Here, he built himself the beautiful residence called 
Johnson Hall, where he lived many years, surrounded by 
the Mohawks, who regarded him with veneration and 
esteem, and always depending upon him, for advice and 
counsel. Colonel Guy Johnson had also a separate man- 
sion : they both lived, essentially in the rank and abund- 
ance of noblemen. 

" Sir William Johnson was born in Ireland, and came 

* See nan-ative of " migration and settlement," on a subsequent 
page. 



EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 555 

to the Mohawk in 1734, in consequence of the call of his 
uncle, admiral Warren, then residing in New York, and 
who, from marrying an American lady, had become pos- 
sessed of a large estate, on or near that river, called War- 
ren's Bush. While settled here, he made it his business 
to become acquainted with, and to conciliate the regard 
of the Indians, 

" Sir William had two daughters. One of these, was 
married to colonel Guy Johnson, the other to colonel Glaus. 
His only son, became afterwards. Sir John Johnson; and 
both he and colonel Guy Johnson joined the British, in 
the war against us, in the revolution, and did us much harm. 

" Sir William died, just before the revolution began, 
but not until he was pained to see and hear of its ap- 
proach, to wit, in July, 1774, in the fifty-ninth year of his 
age. He died suddenly, and was buried under the old 
stone church at Johnstown ; but, in 1806, his bones were 
redeposited. In his coffin, was found the ball with which 
he was wounded, in his successful conflict with baron 
Dieskau, in 1757, at lake George. 

" Many traditionary accounts, are still given in the 
neighborhood, of the rustic sports encouraged by Sir 
William, and of the influence, which he exerted over 
the Indians and white inhabitants. Among others, it is 
related that he showed his ingenuity and tact, with the 
celebrated old king Hendrick, who, from a desire to pos- 
sess a military suit, had told Sir William, that he had 
dreamed that he had been given such a suit, by him : the 
suit was therefore given. Some time after. Sir William 
told to the old king, in turn, his dream, which was, that he 
had given him a tract of land, and described its position ; 
the same, in the county of Herkimer, extending from 
East to West Canada creek, being about twelve miles 
square. The old king said he must have it, but also added, 
significantly, ' You must not dream again !' The title was 
confirmed by the king of England, and, in a double sense, 
was called, the ' Royal Grant !' Afterwards, these, and all 
the possessions of the Johnson family, were confiscated by 
the American congress, because of their tory adherence, 
and the number of royalists whom they won to their in- 
terest and faction, in the revolutionary struggle. 

" When the revolutionary war began, colonel John 
Johnson, under pretext of keeping himself and his Indian 



656 NEW YORK CLASS COOK.-LESSOxX CCLIII. 

interests from violence, from the whigs, began to arm bis 
tenants and dependents, and to erect defences around John- 
son Hall ; and wben he was urged by the committees of 
vigilance, to desist, and was required by congress to say 
explicitly whether he would not allow the enrollment and 
discipline of the militia, in his district, he coolly answered, 
that they might take all ivlw would serve ; thus intimating, 
that he sufficiently understood their attachment to him, 
and his family interests. Not long after, Sir John was taken, 
for the public secui'ity, to Albany, and held as a prisoner, 
under his parole. This, however, he broke, and made his 
escape, with a large number of his tenants, to Montreal. 

" At the time of which we speak, the country was un- 
inhabited, with a few exceptions, from Johnson's Fish- 
house to Johnstown. Near the bridge at the Fish- 
house, formerly stood a house built by Sir William, 
where he generally spent the fishing season, surrounded 
by a few of his European friends, with some of the pro- 
vincial officers that were attached to his suite, and the 
head men of the Mohawks. 

•' The first inhabitants of this section, formed the guard 
of the English frontier; and, from this exposed situation, 
they were, of necessity, compelled to act as farmer, 
hunter, or soldier, as the case required. The exciting 
incidents of such a life, laid the foundation of that high 
personal spirit and resolution, that love of adventure 
and liberty, which form a distinguishing feature in the 
American character. Such a location, so early formed, 
very naturally became, as it did in time, the proper 
capital of Try on county. 

SchoJiarie. — " This earliest settlement inland, in New 
York, began its operation, as early as 1713, when sundry 
German Palatinates, who had befoie been encouraged to 
emigrate to this country, un^er the auspices of queen 
Anne, went on from Albany and Schenectady, over the 
Helleberg, to Schoharie creek, where they settled the 
rich alluvial lands, bordering upon that stream. The 
queen, by her proclamation of 1709, in Germany, had 
promised land gratis, and an exemj^tion from all taxes. 

" Afterwards, small colonies going hence, and from Al- 
bany and Schenectady, established themselves in various 
places along the Mohawk ; and, in 1722, had extended 
as far up as the German Flats, near where stands, the 



EARLY settli:me\'ts. 657 

present village of Herkimer; but, although these ad- 
vanced pioneers knew very well, that they were wholly 
committed to the tender mercies of the Indians, when so 
remote from white population, they did not dare to ven- 
ture beyond the neighborhood of boatable streams, which 
might serve them, in cases of emergency, for a better 
means of escape, when none had ventured out in that 
unbroken wilderness, which lay to the south and west 
of these settlements. 

" In the neighborhood of Schoharie settlement, was the 
earliest and most inland fort of the British, to wit, old fort 
Hunter, situated at the mouth of Schoharie creek, where 
was also the old Mohawk town, and a missionary station, 
with a church for the Indians, founded under the auspices 
of queen Anne. Here the Indians made considerable 
advances in civilization, and did not abandon the place, 
till as late as 1780, when they went off, and settled in 
Canada. 

" From the preceding period, down to the era of the 
revolution, the settlers went on prosperously and con- 
tented. They then heartily entered into the cause of 
the colonies, and appointed their committee of safety, &c. 

" In the fall of 1777, the inhabitants began to suffer 
from the inroads of straggling parties of Indians : aid was 
sought from government ; and three forts were erected, 
called the upper, middle, and lower forts. The middle 
fort was near where the village of Middletown now stands; 
they consisted of intrenchments of earth and wood, thrown 
up in the usual form, around some building, which could 
serve as a shelter for the women and children : the build- 
ing in the middle fort, was a stone house ; that in the 
lower fort, was a stone church. They were severally 
garrisoned with a few continental soldiers, and were each 
furnished with a small field-piece. Many of the inhabi- 
tants repaired to the forts, at night, and went abroad, in 
the mornings, to their employments on their farms ; thus 
indicating, how very much a country so little in advance 
of Schenectady, could still be, in effect, an Indian country, 
and exposed to hostilities. 

" During two or three years, these forts afforded pro- 
tection near them ; but, in the meantime, individuals and 
families were found missing in the outskirts ; and the 
smoking ruins of their dwellings, — and the dead bodies 



558 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLIV. 

of men, and their domestic animals, were alone left to in- 
dicate their fate : occasionally, a prisoner returned to relate 
the secret of their destruction. 

" In the fall of 1780, the perils and the evils of war, 
were visited again upon Schoharie, by a military force, 
under the command of Sir John Johnson, consisting of 
British regulars, loyalists, tories, and Indians. They had 
designed a surprise ; but, on the timely discovery of their 
approach, they avoided the middle fort, and began their 
destruction first with the houses and barns, and the capture 
of the cattle. They next attacked the fort, containing 
but a few men. Major Woolsey, in the command, was 
despondent, and thought of treating for terms, but was 
prevented by the courage of Murphy and others. The 
assailants withdrew, and, proceeding down the creek, de- 
stroyed every thing in their progress, and, after a faint 
effort against the lower fort, pursued their course to fort 
Hunter, and thence upward along the Mohawk, devasta- 
ting wherever they went, and burning the town of Caugh- 
nawaga. 

"After so general a destruction of the Schoharie settle- 
ment, the place was allowed to repose ; and, during the 
years 1781 and 1782, though often alarmed, they had no 
serious molestation." 

Reading Lesson CCLIV. 

Cherry Valley. — " The original patent for this place, 
was granted in 1738, by George Clark, to John Lindesay 
and three others. In the next year, it became wholly the 
property of these two named gentlemen ; and Mr. Linde- 
say made his settlement on the farm, called Lindesay's 
Bush, afterwards successively owned by John Wells and 
judge Hudson. The country, at the time, was filled with 
elk and deer, and had a full proportion of bears, wolves, 
beavers, and foxes, and, for that cause, was the favorite 
hunting-ground of the Mohawks, where they erected their 
cabins, and hunted their game upon the mountains, seven- 
teen hundred feet, in elevation, above the valley of the 
Mohawk. There, Mr. Lindesay, with his son-in-law, Mr. 
Congreve, a British lieutenant, dwelt in utter solitude ; 
being fifteen miles from any settlement; and the interven- 
ing country could only be travelled by the Indian footpath. 



KARLY SETTLEMENTS. 559 

" In the deep snow of 1740, they became wholly iso- 
lated, and cut off" from all possibility of supplies ; and, 
when likely to starve, they were visited by a friendly 
Indian, coming to them on his snow-shoes, who, from time 
to time, brought them such relief and necessaries, — carried 
on his back, — as preserved the lives of these first settlers. 

" In the next year, they were joined by sundry Scotch 
Irish families, from Londonderry, New Hampshire ; in all, 
about thirty persons. From these, their place of settle- 
ment, received the name of Cherry Valley, in allusion to 
the many fine wild cherry-trees, then growing there. For 
a long time, this, then far advanced settlement, became the 
distinguishing name of a large section of the country, south 
and west. 

" These first settlers, under the influence of the Rev. 
Mr. Lindesay, became a strictly religious community. 
They made a log church and school-house, a grist and 
saw-mill. In the course of ten years, they were joined 
by John Wells, and two or three other families. 

" In time, it occurred, that sundry disaffected Indians, 
of Oquago, began to threaten hostility, so that it became 
expedient, to raise a defence of eight hundred rangers, 
for Tryon county, and to place a company of them at 
Cherry Valley, under the command of captain McKean ; 
and to these were joined the occasional services of the 
few inhabitants. Some of these went on to join Sir Will- 
iam Johnson, at fort Edward, in 1757, and survived to 
come back and tell of their doings, in many years of after 
life. • 

" During the harassing periods of the French wars, 
population continued to increase along the rivers and val- 
leys ; and, among the rest, sundry settlements had been 
made, in various positions, around Cherry Valley : — among 
these, came the family of the Harpers. These, afterwards, 
removed from the Valley, and established themselves at 
Harper's Field, in the present county of Delaware, where 
they became distinguished for their courage, and ardent 
attachment to the cause of American liberty. 

" At the period of the revolution, the whole population 
of Cherry Valley was short of three hundred. Then 
came on the tug of war ; and then this community came 
to learn all its terrors and its incidents, from the hostile 
incursions and ravages of the Indians, and their equally 



660 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLV. 

savage allies, the tories, — stimulated and excited by such 
loyalists as colonels Guy Johnson, and Glaus, Sir John 
Johnson, John and Walter Butler, and Joseph Brandt : 
all names of terror and affliction to the inland settlers, 
everywhere. 

" In the summer of 1776, captain Robert McKean raised 
a company of rangers, for the defence of the Valley ; — 
a breastwork of logs and earth, was thrown up around 
colonel Samuel Gampbell's house and barn, as a place of 
refuge; and to these were added two block-houses; — af- 
terwards a proper fort was erected there, at the instance 
of general Lafayette, then at Johnstown. To this, came 
in many of the inhabitants, from Unadilla and other towns 
— even the boys of the place formed themselves into com- 
panies of little soldiers. In one of their parades without 
the fort, they were seen by Brandt and his Indians, at a 
distance ; and, taking them for real soldiers, he went off, 
without attempting his intended surprise. They, however, 
met with lieutenant Wormwood, bearing a message, who, 
being shot from his horse, was tomahawked by Brandt, 
though his personal friend, but who did not know it was he, 
at the time. In the same year, Brandt came with liis 
party to Springfield, and burned it, carrying off several 
prisoners. 

" At the close of the war, most of the surviving inhabi- 
tants of Cherry Valley, returned to their former homes : 
— the places of many, however, were never reoccupied by 
the same owners ; and many a tear was shed, and many a 
bitter remembrance was occasioned by their absence, and 
the thought of the cause. 

" It may possibly interest some, to know that this is the 
home and the birth-place of Cooper, who has so well suc- 
ceeded in drawing the woodman's life, and the Indian's 
character." 

Reading Lesson CCLV. 

The German Flats and fort Herkimer. — "This place 
constituted the most advanced position of white popula- 
tion, lying on the north side of the Mohawk, sixty miles 
from Schenectady. It consisted of a village, called the 
German Flats, originally settled by Germans, under the 
auspices of queen Anne. There, a fort had been built, 
by colonel Charles Clinton, as early as 1758, — to which 



EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 561 

was given the name, afterwards, of fort Herkimer, in honor 
of general Herkimer, of the militia, who fell in the battle 
of Oriskany, not far beyond the Flats. There was also 
another fort on the Flats, called fort Dayton, which was 
built in 1776, and named after colonel Dayton. 

" The people of the Flats, were called out for the de- 
fence of their country, in the summer of 1777, by a pro- 
clamation of geneial Herkimer, wherein he required the 
services of every male person, of from sixteen to sixty 
years of age ; and at the same time, all above sixty, were 
to remain at home, and to gather at a call, for the home 
defence of the women and children. 

" After the battle of Oriskany, in which general Herki- 
mer lost his life, the whole district of the German Flats, 
was filled with grief and mourning. Almost every family 
had lost some relatives. Wives lamenting husbands and 
sons, — sons, too, of only sixteen years of age ; and their 
valued general, in whom they trusted, was also slain. 

" When the German Flats were assaulted and bui'ned, 
in 1778, by the Indians, the place consisted of thirty-eight 
dwellings, on the south side of the Mohawk river, and of 
as many on the north side. Happily, but two persons 
were killed ; as the inhabitants had a previous intimation 
of the approach of the enemy, and got off in time to save 
their lives. 

Fort Schuyler, at Rome. — " This post constituted, at the 
time, the most advanced military position inland, and was 
at the head of the Mohawk navigation. The fort was 
erected in 1776, by colonel Dayton, at the place now 
called Rome, upon the foundation of old fort Stanwix, 
begun in 1759, by general Bradstreet. At this time, old 
fort Schuylei', once at the place now Utica, was gone down, 
and out of use since the time of the French wars. The 
new fort, was at the proper carrying-place, between that 
river and Wood creek, whence the boats made their pass- 
age to Oswego and the lake. 

" While tlie British were advancing, under Burgoyne, 
towards Albany, with the intention to open the communi- 
cation, by the Hudson river, to New York, other expedi- 
tions were meditated, for the purposes of diversion and 
revenge, to operate along the line of the Mohawk. 

"Colonel Claus, in Canada, who had gone from Johns- 
town, as a tory chief, was using his best exertions, to en- 

AA* 



562 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLV. 

gage the assistance of all the Indians, endeavoring to per- 
suade thera, that, with their assistance, he should be fully 
able to capture new fort Schuyler. This intimation gave 
rise to the appointment, of colonel Gansevoort, in April, 
1777, with the third regiment, to that post. The command 
of the British force, was given to general St. Leger, who 
intended, after conquering that post, to pass down the 
Mohawk, and fortify himself at Johnstown ; he arrived 
before the place, with a large force, via Oswego, in August, 
and, soon after, began his operations. 

" In the meantime, general Herkimer, a native of the 
country, was approaching with his militia relief. These 
were assailed on the way, at Oriskany, at a ravine, a few 
miles from the fort, by colonel Butler, commanding the 
tories, and colonel Brandt, the Indian chief, commanding 
the Indians ; and, being taken by surprise, they were of 
course, greatly cut up and dispersed, and their comman- 
der, general Herkimer, slain," as was related in the histo- 
rical part of our volume. " In that bloody conflict, were 
found the Indian and the white man, born on the banks 
of the Mohawk, lying side by side, in the embrace of 
death. The militia fought with great desperation, and 
sold their lives with the sternest courage, fighting hand to 
hand, to the last. 

*' Numerous were the families along the- Mohawk, who 
survived to lament the loss of their relatives, of husbands 
and brothers, in the terrible fight of Oriskany. General 
Herkimer was, doubtless, in fault, in having allowed himself 
to be surprised; but he redeemed his imprudence, by his 
courage. Early in the battle, which was waged for near- 
ly five hours, the general had his leg fractured by a musket 
ball ; he sat upon a stone, giving his orders to the last : 
mortification ensued from his wound ; and he died, in a 
few days." 

"About the year 1761, Mrs. Grant, when a child of 
seven years of age, was started, with her mother, in a 
military expedition, — her father being a British officer, — 
to go by the Mohawk and Wood creek, to reach the far 
distant post of Oswego. 

" The place, then, was wholly wild, and a real Siberia 
in the winter, but abounded with fish and fowl ; and the 
woods, then, were thick, lofty, and interminable. The 
present writer, when he made a tour by the military road 



EARLY SETTLEMENTS. 563 

from Oswego to Rome, even as late as 1828, found it the 
very wildest region of New York, and the most occupied 
with the rude mud and mire bridges, popularly called 
corduroy, — logs laid transverse of the road, in all boggy 
and wet places. There were wolves and bears still to be 
occasionally killed there. 

The Pulteneij estate. — " The Pulteney estate, is of 
great extent and immense value, — comprising nearly 
all of Steuben and Ontario counties, the east range of 
townships in Alleghany county, and the east and prin- 
cipal parts of the counties of Livingston and Monroe. 
To the intelligent and industrious agent, captain Charles 
Williamson, the meed of praise is due for the stimulus 
to useful improvement. Captain Williamson began his 
enterprise in 1792, forcing his passage through a length 
of wilderness, which the oldest and most experienced 
woodmen could not be tempted to assist him to explore, 
although offered five times the usual wages : his only 
companions, were his friend, Mr. Johnstone, a servant, 
and one backwoodsman. 

Bath. — " The same year, there was laid out the town 
of Bath, which came, in eight years afterwards, to contain 
about forty families. It was not until 1795, that the 
country could supply its inhabitants with food; for, till 
then, their flour was brought from Northumberland, and 
their pork from Philadelphia ; yet, so rapidly has im- 
provement advanced, and so quick has been the change, 
from the dark-tangled forest, (whose death-like silence 
yielded but to the growl of bears, the howl of wolves, 
aTid the yell of savages,) to smiling fields, to flocks and 
herds, and to 'the busy hum of men,' that, instead of being 
mdebted to others for their support, they soon came to 
the profitable condition of making large exportations of 
their surplus. 

" On the first settlement of the country around Bath, 
those mountainous districts were so little regarded, in 
comparison with the rich flats, of the Genesee country, 
that few of the early settlers could be prevailed upon to 
establish themselves there, till captain Williamson set the 
example ; — and saying, ' As nature has done so much for 
the northern plains, I will be doing something for these 
southern mountains.' Captain Williamson made his be- 
ginning in Bath, by building himself a small log cabin for 



564 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLVL 

his wife and family ; and, if a stranger came to visit him, 
he built up a little nook to put his bed in. In a short 
time, a boarded or frame house was built for the captain. 
His subsequent residence is a very commodious, roomy 
house, situated to the right of where he had placed his 
first cabin, — since, consigned to the kitchen fire. In a 
few years, Williamson's mills, were constructed near by, 
for the benefit of the population on Conhocton creek. 

Geneva. — " To the same captain Williamson, we are 
indebted, for the choice and beautiful site of Geneva, at 
the northwest end of Seneca lake. He, charmed with 
the peculiar beauty of the elevated plain which there 
commands so fine a view of the very picturesque lake, 
began to lay out his building lots for a town, parallel 
with, and facing the lake, and with conditions, that no 
buildings should be erected on the eastern side of the 
street, so as ever to obstruct the view of the lake. 

" In 1792, Geneva did not contain more than three or 
four families; and in ISOO, there was an accession of 
eixty families. 

" Canandaigua, — near the lake of the same name, — 
had in 1792, but two frame houses, and a few log cabins, 
and soon advanced in population; say in ISOO, to ninety 
families. This town, by the inconsideration of the first 
settlers, was placed, unlike Geneva, at a little distance 
from its beautiful lake, and has so lost, forever, all the 
charm which its superior water scenery could have 
afforded." 

MIGRATION AND SETTLING. 
Reading Lesson CCLVI. 

Leaving home. — " We see two or three families, con- 
sisting severally of husbands, wives, and children, asso- 
ciating, in the year 1790, in one of the towns of New 
England, to form a little community to go into the wilds 
of the west. They had heard of fruitful soils and cheap; 
and, having growing and sturdy working boys and girls 
about them, they resolve to go as far as the Indian town 
of Canandaigua ; or, if not there suited, to go still farther, 
to the country of the Genesee river. They sell out their 
little immovable property, for the sake of the cash ; they 
gather about them wagons, carts, farming utensils; re- 



MIGRATION AND SETTLIAG. 565 

serve some of their roughest furniture and of least weifht 
of carriage; lay in tlieir store of salted and smoked meats; 
procure baked biscuits; get Indian meal for 'journey- 
cakes ;' gather around a whole stock of cows, pigs, sheep, 
and poultry; not forgetting their house dog and tabby cat. 

First stages of the journey. — " We skip over the inter- 
mediate space of travel, wherein they could find huts and 
cottages at which to stop along their route, to as far as the 
present Utica, then the place of fort Schuyler; from this 
point, the united pioneers enter into the forest. The jiro- 
visions, furniture, and smallest children, are placed in the 
wagon and set onward. The men, women, and boys and 
girls, follow, near by, driving, in their wake, their bullocks, 
cows, pigs, and sheep. Hung to the wagons, severally, 
were the poultry coops, containing ducks, geese, and 
fowls, the intended parent stock of the future poultry 
yard. 

The journey through the wilderness.' — " In their onward 
march, no road marks the direction of their way ; but 
guided by the ' blazing of the trees,' (surveyor's marks 
cut on the sides of trees with a hatchet,) or, when at fault, 
by their pocket compass, they continue to go on their way 
westward. By and by, they halt to rest, and to feed their 
cattle and themselves. Their table, once an ironing-board, 
is set upon four upright stakes driven into the ground. 
Their seats are formed by two benches. Biscuits and 
cold meat form their food. At table, and in their mutual 
intercourse, they try to cheer and encourage each other 
with hopes and designs of the future. Soon, all are again 
set onward ; water-courses and impediments in the way 
occasionally occur. Then the men and boys are the chief 
laborers ; and to manage their cattle and get them over 
the sloughs, is their chief difficulty. 

Indians. — " By and by, they approach the Oneida settle- 
ment of Indians, of which they have some forethought, by 
seeing a straggling hunter or two, and, after a while, hearing 
the shouts and noisy rejoicings of the tribe. At the sound, 
fears and apprehensions steal upon the soul. The younger 
members of the family get closer to their parents ; and 
the parents themselves are not insensible to the fact, that 
they have no other security for their safety, than the gen- 
eral report of peace and amity. They enter their settle- 
ment ; are surrounded ; mutual wonder exists ; civilities 



566 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LtSi^ON CCLVI 

are interchanged ; and the settlers, not wilhng to abide, for 
a night, among them, go beyond them, and encamp, for 
the first night. 

Night in tlie forest. — " What a new epoch for a family 
accustomed to civilization, to sit down in the gloom of the 
forest ! They again prepare to eat and to feed their cattle. 
The fire is made for tea, and fresh journey-cake baked 
before the fire. The bedding and beds are prepared in 
the wagons. Watches are set to take turns, through the 
night, to preserve the cattle from straying, and the sheep 
from the prowling wolf. When all is prepared, the whole 
company surround their homely table, eat heartily, and 
talk cheerily. Some sing songs, some hymns ; several 
recount the incidents of the day; all remember home, 
and talk of left friends and kindred ; and some surmise 
the adventures before them. They all retire to rest, in 
due time, save the watch and the dogs. The fatigues of 
the day make many sleep soundly ; and only now and 
then a wakeful ear hears the bark of the fox, the distant 
growl of the wolf, or the shriek of the owl. Soon as the 
ruddy morn peeps out from the east, the company are 
again all in action, preparing for their morning meal and 
onward journey. 

The Onondagas. — " In two days more oi similar jour- 
ney, they reach the Indian settlement of the Onondagas, — 
Indians whom they feared more than the former, only be- 
cause they were still more in their power, by being still 
more remote from country and friends. They still, how- 
ever, received civility and kindness, in their rude but well- 
meant attentions. They brought them some of their game; 
and this, with successful shooting of their own, among the 
partridges and pheasants seen in their route, gave them 
the means of a grand repast of sylvan food, for their sup- 
per. They again spent their night much after the manner 
befoi-e mentioned, and not far from the ranges of those 
Indians. 

Canandaigua. — " In a few days, they all reach the In- 
dian village of Canandaigua, at which place the great 
purchaser, Phelps, had preceded them, for the sale of his 
land. In the intermediate space, they had had some new 
adventures ; they had seen and shot several wild turkeys ; 
and one or two of the party had surprised some deer, and 
succeeded in killing a couple. These were so many trophies 



MIGRATION AND SETTLING. 567 

of their woodman character, and gave new life and feel- 
ings to the whole. They had, too, been obliged to make 
many devious wanderings, in search of their way. The 
route became dubious ; and it was only after going off at 
sundry diverging points, that they could feel any assur- 
ance they were near the track they should take. To add 
to these embarrassments, they had encountered wider and 
deeper water-courses ; such as they could not venture to 
traverse without some means to float over some of their 
articles. Here, therefore, they were obliged to fell trees, 
and construct rafts of timber, on which to convey what 
was needed, to the opposite bank. 

Backwoodsmen. — " Once in a while, they came across 
a solitary hunter. Savage as he was, it was a cheer- 
ing sight, because he was human. Man loves man of 
every form, when found in solitude. Occasionally, they 
came across tokens of encampment, known by the signs of 
former fires, the tracks of cattle, and the fragments of their 
feast. The very sight of such remains was cheering, and 
set all the company in good humor and fine spirits. But 
when, once in a long while, they could see, in the dis- 
tance, the curling smoke of a log hut, and a little clearing, 
their rejoiced spirits triumphed aloud. It hardly mattered 
who they were, the sight of white faces was so welcome; 
but if they had also gentleness and goodness to recom- 
mend them, mutual hospitalities were unbounded." 

Reading Lesson CCLVII. 

The Genesee. — " At Canandaigua, one of the families 
made arrangements to remain and settle ; but the other 
two families, allured to still stronger hopes by more dis- 
tant settlement, determined to keep on to the Genesee 
river. To this they were more especially inclined by the 
descriptions and the promised guidance of some friendly 
Senecas. Taking leave of their former companions, and 
the few other white settlers found there, they once more 
put forward, in their former method of march ; and, after 
many renewed difficulties of going up to the head of 
streams, or having to pass them by slight bridges or rafts, 
they, at length, arrived at the long sought lonely home, 
placed near the banks of the now beautiful Genesee. 

The log hut. — " Here began a new era of toil, enter- 



668 NEVV-YOEK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLVK. 

prise, and skill. Their business, now, was to fell trees, 
and cut logs, for their future dwelling, and to locate it 
near a spring. At the same time, the boughs, in leaf, 
were set up pointing, like the pitch of a roof, to serve as a 
temporary shed and shelter for sundry articles taken out of 
the wagons. The log house, ofone story, being constructed, 
and placed north and south, as their domestic sun-dial, and 
covered over with a stave roof; having a wide chimney, 
made of stones and clay, into which a log of ten feet length 
could be rolled for fuel ; the doors were left purposely 
80 wide that the horse could draw in a log, by a chain, 
and, leaving his load, pass out at the opposite side. Such 
a house was destined, in time, to be a kitchen, when they 
could construct a better one, adjoining. In the meantime, 
one great room below, with a ground floor, served ' for 
parlor, kitchen, and hall ;' and the loft above made one 
general chamber of rest, with, here and there, a coverlet 
paj-tition pendent between the different sexes. 

Clearing. — " Now, the family being housed, the 'clear- 
ing,' of vital importance to their future support and nour- 
ishment, was set upon. Along the outer margin, the trees 
were cut down, and rolled inward, towards the centre, so 
as to break the line of communication with the adjacent 
woods. Then the whole was set into one general confla- 
gration, so as to kill the trees, and provide an opening for 
the rays of the sun upon the land. Smoke and the perils 
of fire were endured as well as they could. When suflft- 
ciently burned out, the plough and the hoe were set into 
the soil, to prepare for planting corn and other needful 
grain. 

" The women, too, had their concern, to make out 
their little garden spot, where they might set in their gar- 
den seeds; such as salad, beans, peas, onions, and cab- 
bages ; and their intended nursery of apple-seeds, and 
peach, plum, and cherry-stones ; for, in such a state, every 
thing is to begin. 

Home in the forest. — " As time advanced, all these pri- 
mary arrangements were enlarged ; and comforts were 
increased. The men and boys labored, all day ; and, at 
night, the girls spun, and the boys knit. Their evening 
hours were talked down, pleasantly, with fond remem- 
brances of former homes, and fond hopes of future pros- 
perity. When Sabbath carae, they united in hearing the 



MIUKATION AND SETTLING 569 

perusal of the family Bible, or in reading family sermons ; 
and the hymn book was used, for its remembered song 
of Zion. Now they had no church, no merry chime of 
bells, no pastoral guardian. They felt this the more keenly, 
because of its absence. Three families then constituted 
the number of all the settlers ; but these were friendly, 
and mutually helpful when urgent occasion required. The 
Indians would come, occasionally, to look on, saluting 
always with a friendly ' Itah,'' or ' good be to you.' Often 
deer were started, sometimes shot. Bears were sometimes 
seen, and hunted off. Smaller game was always at hand, 
to shoot ; and, in the stream, the finest fish abounded." 

Reading Lesson CCLVIII. 

The sngar-camp. — " By and by, new settlers came 
along, in families, one by one. They were always warmly 
welcomed, and diligently assisted to make their log struct- 
ures. In the spring and fall, was a period of harvest, of 
honeyed sweet from the juice of the maple-tree. The 
sugar-camp, as it was called, made an occasion of cheer- 
ful gathering, especially among the children, who loved 
to partake from the sugar-pans. 

Privations. — "When the winter came, the fall of snow 
was deep and lasting: abiding, all the winter, several feet 
deep, and requiring, occasionally, the use of snow-shoes. 
To make paths and roads, in cases of deep snow, they 
had to arrange their cattle and drive them in lines of two 
abreast, to the places required. They had then no' mills 
to grind their grain, and made use of a wooden mortar, 
formed from a hollowed log set on end, to which they 
applied a pestle, attached to a sweep like the pole of a 
well. 

Life of childhood. — " In giving a domestic picture of such 
a frontier family, we must not forget to show how the 
children were sometimes employed. They had no school; 
but they were not idle : they had snares and traps about 
in the woods, where they often succeeded in snaring 
game. Partridges and rabbits they caught so, in abund- 
ance. Raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, and whor- 
tlebemes, grew in rich abundance, and afforded them de- 
lio-htful repasts. They had squirrels and rabbits which 
they had tamed. The cat, too, was diligent, and often 



670 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCLVIII. 

brought in her captures ; calling, by her known cry, the 
children around, and laying down ground-mice or squir- 
rels. At one time, the boys found a brood of young rac- 
coons, which, being brought home, were all domesticated 
by good-natured puss. By and by, their joy was made 
complete, by the arrival of an old soldier, escaped from 
captivity, who gladly made his home among them, and 
used to amuse their evenings, by telling the family circle 
of his many hair-breadth 'scapes. He loved a story, and 
loved a song; and with these sweetly he beguiled the 
hours. Some of his tales of suffering captives among the 
Indians, were full of pathos and interest, filling the heart 
and extorting a tear. 

Wild animals. — " A friend who has been conversant 
with frontier settlements, describes the same as being ori- 
ginally well stocked with bears, wolves, deer, and turkeys. 
The flesh of the two last, was not only a luxury, but a 
necessary article of food. The wolf occasionally made 
great havoc among the few sheep, — committing assaults, 
at the same time, upon the wild deer. He has been 
known to attack cows. The bear confined himself to 
hogs ; and sundry instances are given of his successful 
capture of these from their pens. He springs suddenly 
upon his victim, grasps him in his arms, or fore-legs, with 
great force, erects himself upon his hind-legs, like a man, 
and makes off with his load. The piercing squeal of the 
distressed hog, is the first warning to the owner. In such 
a manner, the bear will make off faster through a thick 
wood, than a man on foot can follow. The groans and 
struggles of the animal in his embrace, become weaker 
and weaker, and soon entirely cease ; the prey being lit- 
erally hugged to death. 

Tlie bear-trap. — " When a settler came upon any part- 
ly eaten animal, left by a bear, he was sure to set a traj) 
for him, which would take him, within the next twenty- 
four hours ; because it was his nature to return to feed on 
the remainder, and to show little or no sagacity in avoid- 
ing the snare. For this purpose, a heavy steel trap was 
used, with smooth jaws, and a long drag-chain, with iron 
claws at the extremity. It was not fastened to the spot, 
because the great strength of the bear, would enable him 
to free himself; but as he ran, after being ensnared, the 
claws would catch upon the brush, retarding his flight, 



MIGRATION AND SETTLING. 571 

and leaving a distinct trail, by which he could be traced 
and overtaken, in a couple of miles, in a state of much ex- 
haustion, and killed. This was done, by first allowing 
the dogs to test their courage and dexterity in the assault, 
— before the finale should be produced by the ball of 
the sure rifle. In these battles, if the shackles were upon 
the hind legs, leaving the fore-paws free, there were but 
few dogs who could venture upon close conflict, a second 
time. 

Hunting. — " It was, occasionally, a winter affair, to make 
a gathering of all the male population, far and near, to 
make 'a drive,'' or large hunt, for the purpose of ridding the 
country of the bear and wolf. At other times, it was done 
upon a smaller scale, by fewer neighbors, for the purpose 
of capturing a few deer and turkeys. A 'drive' was con- 
ducted by making a circuit of a large tract of wild land ; 
placing the members on the outer circle, sufficiently near 
to be within calling distance of each other; and then, with 
loud shoutings, and blowing of tin horns, proceeding in- 
ward to a common centre, so as to enclose the destined 
prey. When within half a mile of the centre, to mark 
which, the trees had been previously blazed, they called 
a halt ; — sending round a man or two on horseback, to 
see that all should be equally prepared, at the sound and 
call of a common assault, by rushing inward to the centre. 

" By this time, the herd of deer might be seen occa- 
sionally rushing, in affright, from one line to the other. 
If the drive had been a successful one, great numbers of 
turkeys could be seen flying among the trees, away from 
the spot. Deer too, as the circle was closing, could be 
seen sweeping round the ring, panting and terrified, under 
an incessant fire. Innocent and timid, as seem these 
leathern-coated, and tear-dropping animals, when so 
closely pressed, they sometimes make for the line, at full 
speed ; and if the men there are too numerous or resolute 
to give way, they actually leap over their heads, and over 
all the stakes, pitchforks, and guns raised to oppose them. 
.By a concert of the regular hunters, gaps are sometimes 
pui-posely made, to allow them to escape, the better to 
secure the bear and the wolf. Then the wolf is seen skulk- 
ing through the bushes, aiming to escape observation by 
concealment. The bears, at the same time, are seen to 
dash through the brush, highly enraged, and going from 



572 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.-LESSON CCLVIII. 

one side of the field to the other, regardless of the bullets 
wliich are playing upon them. 

" After the game is mostly killed, a few good marksmen 
and dogs scour the ground, to stir up what may be con- 
cealed or wounded. This over, they all advance to the 
centre with a shout, dragging along the carcasses which 
have fallen, for the purpose of counting the I'esult of their 
exploit. 

" Such exposing and exciting incidents, familiar to fron- 
tier men, have been fruitful in training a high spirit of 
soldierly and military prowess. Wolves were taken in 
steel traps, but not very readily, in that way. The easiest 
means of their capture was in log pens, prepared like the 
roof of a house, shelving inwards, on all sides. In this, 
was to be placed the half-devoured carcass of a sheep, 
upon which they had previously feasted. The wolf easily 
clambered up the exterior side of the log cabin, and en- 
tered at the top, which was left open for that purpose ; 
and being once there, he could neither escape nor throw 
it down. 

Game. — " Turkeys were taken in square pens, made of 
lighter timber, and covered at the top. They entered at 
an open door in the side, which was suspended by a string 
that led to a catch within. This string and catch were 
covered with chaff, which induced them to enter, and 
while engaged in scratching about the chaff, to get at the 
grain therein, some one among them would strike the 
catch, and let the door down behind them all. Another 
mode of taking turkeys, was to make them pass in, by a 
very small door, in which was laid corn, to entice them in- 
ward ; and when they were in and fed, they would look 
onhj upward for a way of escape, as seemingly forgetting 
the way by which they came. 

Progress of a settlement. — " At length population and 
improvement increased. Pleasant villages and cottage 
clusters were seen in the midst of the wilderness; and 
houses for the worship of God, and schools for the in- 
struction of children, rose, where, not long before, the 
wild beast had his range or his lair. What had begun as 
little and lonely dwellings, ' few and far between,' came, in 
time, to be the nucleus around which gathered other set- 
tlers, and formed a town." 



PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT. 573 

Reading Lesson CCLIX. 

The Progress of Civilization and Improvement.* 

" Late, from this western shore, that\ morning chased 
The deep and ancient night, which thi-ew its shroud 
O'er the green land of groves, the beautiful waste, 
Nurse of full streams, and lifter up of proud 
Sky-mingling mountains that o'erlook the cloud. 
Erewliile, where yon gay spires their brightness rear, 
Ti'ees waved, and the brown hunter's shouts were loud 
Amid the forest ; and the bounding deer 
Fled at the glancing plume, and the gaunt wolf yelled near. 

" And whei-e his willing waves yon bright blue bay 

Sends up, to kiss his decorated brim, 

And cradles, in his soft embrace, the gay 

Young group of grassy islands bom of him. 

And crowding nigh, or in the distance dim, 

Lifts the white throng of sails, that bear or bring 

The commerce of the world ; — with tawny limb. 

And belt and beads in sunlight glistening. 
The savage urged his skitf like wild bird on the wing. 

" Then, all this youthful paradise around. 
And all the broad and boundless mainland, lay 
Cooled by the interminable wood, that frowned 
O'er mount and vale, where never summer ray 
Glanced, till the strong tornado broke his way 
Through the gi-ay giants of the sylvan wild ; 
Yet many a sheltered glade, witli blossoms gay, 
Beneath the showery sky and sunshine mild. 

Within the shaggy arms of that dark forest smiled. 

" There stood the Lidian hamlet, — there the lake 
Spread its blue sheet, that flashed with many an oar, 
Where the brown otter plunged him from the brake, 
And the deer drank : as the light gale flew o'er, 
The twinkling maize-field mstled on the shore ; 
And while that spot, so wild, so lone and fair, 
A look of glad and innocent beauty wore, 
And peace was on the earth and in the air, — 
The warrior lit the pile, and bound his captive there : 

*' Not unavenged — the foeman, from the wood. 
Beheld the deed, and, when the midnight shade 
Was stillest, gorged his battle-axe with blood : 
All died, — the wailing babe — the shrieking maid ; 
And, in the flood of fire that scathed the glade. 
The roofs went down ; but deep the silence grew, 
When on the dewy woods the day-beam played; 
No more the cabin smokes rose wreathed and blue, 

And, ever by their lake, lay moored the light canoe. 

* The above extract from Bryant, siimg up, in lancfuage of peculiar beauty, the 
sentiment of progress, and delineates truly the rapid advance of improvement, in the 
vast interior of New York. We have transcribed it as an appropriate sequel to 
the preceding sketches of pioneer life. t The light of human melioration. 



574 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLIX. 

" Look now abroad — another race has filled 
These populous borders ; — wide the wood recedes, 
And towns shoot up, and fertile realms are tilled ; 
The land is full of hai-^'ests and green meads; 
Streams numberless, that many a fountain feeds, 
Shine, disembowered, and give to sun and breeze 
Their virgin waters ; the full region leads 
New colonies forth, that toward the western seas 
Spread, like a rapid flame among the autumnal ti'ees. 

" Here the free spirit of mankind, at length. 
Throws its last fetters oS"; and who shall place 
A limit to the giant's unchained strength. 
Or curb his swiftness in the forward race 1 
Far, like the comet's way through infinite space, 
Stretches the long untravelled path of light, 
Into the depths of ages : we may trace, 
Distant, the brightening glory of its flight. 

Till the receding rays are lost to human sight." 



SKETCHES OF SCENERY. 

LANDSCAPE. 
Reading Lesson CCLX. 

Tlie Hudson River. 

The main purpose for which our pages are designed, 
is, to furnish a course of instructive reading lessons, on 
subjects connected with the various sources of useful 
local information. But the claims of taste have their just 
place, as well as those of utility ; and proficiency in an 
appropriate and impressive style of reading, demands a 
due attention to both. Our selections have also been 
made with a view, in part, to the cultivation of the sense 
of beauty, and an influence on imagination and mental 
character, as one of the most desirable results of educa- 
tion. 

From no source, more rich or more ample, could we 
draw materials of this description, than from the natural 
scenery of New York. The grandeur and beauty of 
nature are nowhere more abundantly or more strikingly 
displayed, in every variety of form, — from that of the 
mountain streamlet, with its miniature cascades and 
shady pools, to the stupendous cliffs, and majestic wind- 
ings of the Hudson, or the awful sublimity of Niagara 
itself; — from the enchanting scenes of fairy beauty, re- 
posing amid the seclusion of our smaller lakes, to the 
magnificent and ocean-like expanse of Erie or Ontario ; 
— from the pleasing aspect of our fertile and highly 
cultivated vales, to that of the wild sublimity of mountain 
and forest and naked crag, amid the solitudes of the 
Catskills or the peaks of the Adirondac range. 

We commence, here, a brief succession of graphic 
descriptions of a few characteristic local scenes, as pre- 
sented in the pages of distinguished writers. The follow- 
ing poetic, and imaginative sketch of the scenery of the 
Hudson, embodies, in the most felicitous manner, the 



576 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLX. 

varied and powerful impressions which it is adapted to 
produce on the mind. The passage is from the pen of 
Washington Irving, whose descriptions of his native scenes 
are not moi'e admirably beautiful in expression, than they 
are true and faithful transcripts of actual nature. 

Our extract, in the pi"esent instance, is from a work 
which is too imaginative for reality, in the structure of 
its materials, as regards the alleged facts of history, or 
the forms of human life and character, but which inter- 
sperses with its frolic scenes of broad humor and carica- 
ture, many beautiful glimpses of natural scenery. , Those 
of our readers who have not yet perused the fanciful 
pages of Diedrich Knickerbocker, may need to be re- 
minded that the extract refers to an imaginary account 
of a voyage of governor Stuyvesant, up the Hudson 
river. The spirit of the actual scene is faithfully pre- 
served in the following paragraphs, though tinged with 
the language of romance, as to incident and character. 

" Wildness and savage majesty reigned on the borders 
of this mighty river : the hand of cultivation had not, as 
yet, laid down the dark forests, and tamed the features 
of the landscape ; nor had the frequent sail of commerce 
yet broken in upon the profound and awful solitude of 
ages. Here and there might be seen a rude wigwam, 
perched among the cliffs of the mountains, with its curl- 
ing column of smoke mounting in the transparent atmos- 
phere, — but so loftily situated, that the whoopings of the 
savage children, gambolling on the margin of the dizzy 
heights, fell almost as faintly on the ear, as do the notes 
of the lark, when lost in the azure vault of heaven. Now 
and then, from the beetling brow of some rocky precipice, 
the wild deer would look timidly down upon the splendid 
pageant, as it passed below; and then, tossing his branch- 
ing antlers in the air, would bound away into the thicket 
of the forest. 

" Through such scenes did the stately vessel of Peter 
Stuyvesant pass. Now did they skirt the bases of the 
rocky heights of Jersey, which spring up like evei'lasting 
walls, reaching from the waves unto the heavens ; and 
were fashioned, — if traditions may be believed, — in times 
long past, by the mighty spirit of Manetho, to protect his 
favorite abodes from the unhallowed eyes of mortals. 
Now did they career it gaily aci'oss the vast expanse of 



SCENERY.— THE HUDSON RIVER. 577 

Tappan Bay, whose wide extended shores present a vast 
variety of delectable scenery ; — here, the bold promon- 
tory, crowned with embowering trees, advancing into the 
bay, — there, the long woodland slope, sweeping up from 
the shore in rich luxuriance, and terminating in the up- 
land precipice ; while, at a distance, a long waving line 
of rocky heights threw their gigantic shades across the 
water. Now would they pass where some modest little 
interval, opening among these stupendous scenes, yet re- 
treating, as it were, for protection, into the embraces of 
the neighboring mountains, displayed a rural paradise 
fraught with sweet and pastoral beauties ; the velvet- 
tufted lawn, — the bushy copse, — the tinkling rivulet, 
stealing through the fresh and vivid verdure, — on whose 
banks was situated some little Indian village, or, perad- 
venture, the rude cabin of some solitary hunter." 

Readi:\g Lesson CCLXI. 

The Hudson River, continued. 

" The different periods of the revolving day, seemed 
each, with cunning magic, to diffuse a different charm 
over the scene. Now would the jovial sun break glori- 
ously from the east, blazing from the summits of the hills, 
and sparkling the landscape with a thousand dewy gems; 
while, along the borders of the river, were seen heavy 
masses of mist, which, like midnight caitiffs disturbed at 
his approach, made a sluggish retreat, rolling, in sullen 
reluctance, up the mountains. At such times, all was 
brightness and life and gayety: the atmosphere seemed 
of an indescribable pureness and transparency; and the 
birds broke forth in wanton madrigals ; and the freshen- 
ing breezes wafted the vessel merrily on her course. 
But when the sun sunk amid a flood of glory in the west, 
mantling the heavens and the earth with a thousand 
gorgeous dyes, — then all was calm, and silent, and mag- 
nificent. The late swelling sail hung lifelessly against 
the mast; the seamen, with folded arms, leaned against 
the shrouds, lost in that involuntary musing which the 
sober grandeur of nature commands, in the rudest of her 
children. The vast bosom of the Hudson was like an 
unruffled mirror, reflecting the golden splendor of the 
heavens, excepting that, now and then, a bark canoe 

Bb 



578 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXI. 

would Steal across its surface, filled with painted savages, 
whose gay feathers glared brightly, as, perchance, a ling- 
ering ray of the setting sun gleamed upon them from the 
western mountains. 

" But, when the hour of twilight spread its magic 
mists around, then did the face of nature assume a thou- 
sand fugitive charms, which, to the worthy heart that 
seeks enjoyment in the glorious works of its Maker, are 
inexpressibly captivating. The mellow dubious light 
that prevailed, just served to tinge, with illusive colors, 
the softened features of the scenery. The deceived but 
delighted eye sought, vainly, to discern, in the broad 
masses of shade, the separating line between the land 
and water ; or to distinguish the fading objects that 
seemed sinking into chaos. Now did the busy fancy 
supply the feebleness of vision ; producing, with indus- 
trious craft, a fairy creation of her own. Under her 
plastic wand, the barren rocks frowned upon the watery 
waste, in the semblance of lofty towers and high em- 
battled castles ; trees assumed the direful forms of mighty 
giants ; and the inaccessible summits of the mountains 
seemed peopled with a thousand shadowy beings. 

" Now broke forth, from the shores, the notes of an 
innumerable variety of insects, which filled the air with a 
strange but not inharmonious concert, — while, ever and 
anon, was heard the melancholy plaint of the whip-poor- 
will, who, perched on some lone tree, wearied the ear of 
night with his incessant moanings. The mind, soothed 
into a hallowed melancholy, listened, with pensive still- 
ness, to catch and distinguish each sound that vaguely 
echoed from the shore, — now and then startled, per- 
chance, by the whoop of some straggling savage, or the 
dreary howl of a wolf, stealing foith upon his nightly 
prowlings. 

" Thus happily did they pursue their course, until they 
entered upon those awful defiles denominated The High- 
lands, where it would seem that the gigantic Titans had 
erst waged their impious war with heaven, piling up' 
cliffs on cliffs, and hurUng vast masses of rock, in wild 
confusion. But, in sooth, very different is the history of 
these cloud-capt mountains. These, in ancient days, 
before the Hudson poured his waters from the lakes, 
formed one vast px-ison, within whose rocky bosom the 



SCENERY.— THE HUDSON RIVER. 



579 



omiiijiotent Manetho confined the rebellious spirits who 
repined at his control. Here, bound in adamantine 
chains, or jammed in rifted pines, or crushed by pon- 
derous rocks, they groaned, for many an age. At length, 
the conquering Hudson, in his irresistible career towards 
the ocean, burst open their prison-house, rolling his tide 
triumphantly through its stupendous ruins. 

" Still, however, do many of them lurk about their old 
abodes ; and these it is, according to venerable legends, 
that cause the echoes which r#sound throughout these 
awful solitudes ; and which are nothing but their angry 
clamors, when any noise disturbs the profoundness of 
their repose. For, when the elements are agitated by 
tempest, when the winds are up, and the thunder rolls, 
then horrible is the yelling and howling of these troubled 
spirits, making the mountains rebellow with their hideous 
uproar ; for, at such times, it is said, they think the great 
Manetho is returning, once more to plunge them in gloomy 
caverns, and renew their intolerable captivity." 




View on Cepar River.* 

* The above cut may pei^ve to give an idea of the sceneiy of the 
minor streams which abound in the mountain regions of the northern 
part of the state. 



580 NEW- YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CCLXIL 

Reading Lesson CCLXII. 
Otsego Lahe. 

The following vivid descriptions, though given in the 
homely language of a backwoodsman and a hunter, form 
a series of true and beautiful pictures of some of the most 
romantic spots that are to be found amid the seclusion of 
the lakes, or the solitudes of the mountain scenery of New 
York. The passage is enriched, rather than empoverish- 
ed, by the peculiar dialect of the narrator. Our great 
artist, Washington Allston, — now no more, — once said, 
after reading the paragraphs quoted in the following ex- 
tract, " I consider Leather-stocking the most original and 
beautiful creation of American genius." 

The scene which we have transferred to our pages, oc- 
curs in captain Cooper's admirable delineations of local 
scenery, life, and character, embodied in his tale entitled 
the Pioneers. For the assistance of such of our young 
readers as may not have read the book, we may mention, 
— by way of explanation, — that, of the personages intro- 
duced in the extract, Edwards, the first speaker, is a 
youth whom circumstances have rendered intimate with, 
and much attached to, the others. These are the hunter, 
Natty Bumpo, or Leathei'-stocking, as he was called by 
the pioneer settlers, or Hawk-eye, by the Indians; and 
Mohecan, or Chingachgook, an aged chief of the Dela- 
ware tribe. At the time of their conversation, all three 
are engaged in fishing, in the waters of Otsego lake. 

"'How beautifully tranquil and glassy the lake is !' said 
Edwai'ds. ' Saw you it ever more calm and even than at 
this moment. Natty V 

" ' I have known the Otsego water for five and forty 
years,' said Leather-stocking; ' and I will say that for it, 
which is, that a cleaner spring or a better fishing is not to 
be found in the land. Yes, yes — I had the place to my- 
elf once ; and a cheerful time I had of it. The game 
was as plenty as heart could wish; and there was none to 
meddle with the ground, unless there might have been a 
hunting party of the Delawares crossing the hills, or, may- 
be, a rifling scout of them thieves, the Iroquois. There 
was one or two Frenchmen that squatted in the flats, 
further west, and married squaws; and some of the 



SCENERY.— THE CATSKILI, MOUNTAINS. 



581 



Scotch-Irishers, from the Cherry Valley, would come on 
to the lake, and borrow my canoe to take a mess of parch, 
or drop a line for a salmon-trout; but, in the main, it was 
a cheerful place, and I had but little to disturb me in it. 
John would come ; and John knows.' 

" Mohegan turned his dark face, at this appeal, and, 
moving his hand forward with a graceful motion of as- 
sent, he spoke, using the Delaware language — 

" ' The land was owned by my people ; we gave it to 
my brother, in council, — to the Fire-Eater; and what the 
Delawares give, lasts as long as the waters run. Hawk- 
eye smoked at that council ; for we loved him.' 

" ' No, no, John,' said Natty, ' I was no chief; seeing 
that I know'd nothing of scholarship, and had a white 
skin. But it was a comfortable hunting-ground then, lad, 
and would have been so to this day, but for the money of 
Marmaduke Temple, and, may-be, the twisty ways of the 
law.' 

" ' It must have been a sight of melancholy pleasure, in- 
deed,' said Edwards, while his eye roved along the shores 
and over the hills, where the clearings, groaning with gold- 
en corn, were cheering the forests with the signs of life, 
' to have roamed over these mountains, and along this 
sheet of beautiful water, without a living soul to speak to, 
or to thwart your humor.' 




682 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CLXIIL 

"'Haven't I said it was a cheerful 1' said Leather- 
stocking. ' Yes, yes — when the trees begun to be kivei-- 
ed with the leaves, and the ice was out of the lake, it was 
a second paradise. I have travelled the woods for fifty- 
three years, and have made them my home for more than 
forty ; and I can say that I have met but one place that 
was more to my liking, and that was only to eyesight, and 
not hunting or fishing.' 

" ' And where was that place V asked Edwards. 

" ' Where ! why up on the Catskills.' " 



Reading Lesson CCLXIIL 
The Catskill Mountains. 

" ' I used often,' continued Leather-stocking, ' to go up 
into the mountains after wolves' skins, and bears ; once 
they bought me to get them a stuffed painter; and so I 
often went. There's a place in them hills that I used to 
climb to, when I wanted to see the carryings on of the 
world, that would well pay any man for a barked shin or 
a torn moccasin. You know the Catskills, lad ; for you 
must have seen them on your left, as you followed the 
river up from York, looking as blue as a piece of clear 
sky, and holding the clouds on their tops, as the smoke 
curls over the head of an Indian chief at a council fire. 
"Well, there's the High-peak and the Round-top, which 
lay back, like a father and mother among their chidren, 
seeing they are far above all the other hills. But the 
place I mean, is next to the I'iver, where one of the ridges 
juts out a little from the rest, and where the rocks fall for 
the best part of a thousand feet, so much up and down, 
that a man standing on their edges, is fool enough to think 
he can jump from top to bottom.' 

" ' What see you, when you get there V asked Ed- 
wards. 

" ' Creation !' said Natty, dropping the end of his rod 
into the watei% and sweeping one hand around him in a 
circle — ' all creation, lad. I was on that hill, when Vaughan 
burnt 'Sopus, in thd last war ; and I seen the vessels come 
out of the Highlands as plain as I can see that lime-scow 
rowing into the Susquehanna, though one was twenty 



SCENERY.— KAATEKSKILL CREEK. 583 

times further from me than the other. The river was in 
sight for seventy miles, under my feet, looking like a 
curled shaving; though it was eight long miles to its 
banks. I saw the hills in the Hampshire grants, the high 
lands of the river, and all that God had done, or man 
could do, as far as eye could reach — you know that the 
Indians named me for my sight, lad — and from the Hat 
on the top of that mountain, I have often found the place 
where Albany stands ; and as for 'Sopus ! the day the 
royal troops burnt the town, the smoke seemed so nigh, 
that I thought I could hear the screeches of the women.' 

" ' It must have been worth the toil, to meet with such 
a glorious view.' 

" ' If being the best part of a mile in the air, and 
having men's farms and housen at your feet, with rivers 
looking like ribands, and. mountains bigger than the 
* Vision,' seeming to be haystacks of green grass under 
you, gives any satisfaction to a man, I can recommend 
the spot. When I first come into the woods to live, I 
used to have weak spells, and I felt lonesome ; and then 
I would go into the Catskills, and spend a few days on 
that hill, to look at the ways of man. But it's now many 
a year since I felt any such longings ; and I'm getting 
too old for them rugged rocks.' " 



Reading Lesson CCLXIV. 
Fall on the Kaaterskill. 

" ' There's a place,* a short two miles back of that very 
hill, that, in late times, I relished better than the moun- 
tain ; for it was more kivered with the trees, and was 
more nateral.' 

" ' And where was that V inquired Edwards, whose 
curiosity was strongly excited by the simple description 
of the hunter, 

•• * Why, there's a fall in the hills, where the water of 
two little ponds that lie near each other, breaks out of 
their bounds, and runs over the rocks, into the valley. 
The stream is, maybe, such a one as would turn a mill, 
if so useless a thing was wanted, in the wilderness. But 
the Hand that niade that ' Leap,' never made a mill ! 
* The hunter continues his conversation with Edwards. 



584 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCLXIV. 

There the water comes crooking and winding among the 
rocks, first so slow that a trout could swim in it, and then 
starting and running, just like any creater that wanted to 
make a far spring, till it gets to where the mountain 
divides, like the cleft hoof of a deer, leaving a deep 
hollow for the brook to tumble into. The first pitch is 
nigh two hundred feet ; and the water looks like flakes 
of driven snow, afore it touches the bottom ; and there 
the stream gathers itself together for a new start, and, 
maybe, flutters over fifty feet of flat-rock, before it falls 
for another hundred, when it jumps about from shelf to 
shelf, first turning this-away, and then turning that-away, 
striving to get out of the hollow, till it finally comes to 
the plain.' 

" ' I have never heard of this spot before !' exclaimed 
Edward ; ' it is not mentioned in the books.' 

" ' I never read a book in my life,' said Leather- 
stocking ; * and how should a man who has lived in 
towns and schools know any thing about the wonders 
of the woods 1 No, no, lad ; there has that little stream 
of water been playing among them hills, since He made 
the world ; and not a dozen white men have ever laid 
eyes on it. The rock sweeps like mason-work, in a 
half round, on both sides of the falls, and shelves over 
the bottom, for fifty feet; so that when I've been sitting 
at the foot of the first pitch, and my hounds have run 
into the caverns behind the sheet of water, they've looked 
no bigger than so many rabbits. To my judgment, lad, 
it's the best piece of work that I've met with in the 
woods ; and none know how often the hand of God is 
seen in a wilderness, but them that rove it for a man's 
life.' 

" ' What becomes of the water 1 In which direction 
does it run 1 Is it a tributary of the Delaware V 

" ' Anan !' said Natty. 

" * Does the v/ater run into the Delaware V 

" ' No, no, it's a drop for the old Hudson ; and a merry 
time it has, till it gets down off" the mountain. I've sat on 
the shelving rock, many a long hour, boy, and watched 
the bubbles as they shot by me, and thought how long it' 
would be before that very water, which seemed made 
for the wilderness, would be under the bottom of a 
vessel, and tossing in the salt sea. It is a spot to make 



SCENERY.— THE ADIRO-\DAC PASS. 



585 



a man solemnize. You can see right down into the 
valley that lies to the east of the Higli-peak, where, in 
the fall of the year, thousands of acres of woods are be- 
fore your eyes, in the deep hollow, and along tne side 
of the mountain, painted like ten thousand, rainbows, by 
no hand of man, though not without the ordering of; 
God's providence.' " 

Reading Lesson CCLXV. 

Adirondac Pass. 

The sublime and impressive scene described in the fol- 
lowing extract from professor Emmons's Report, is one 
of the many which have been explored, and delineated 
during the researches, made in connection with the geo- 
logical sun'ey of the state. 




View of the Adirondac mountains, from lake Sandford. 

" In the midst of the mountains of Essex county, at the 
source of one of the main branches of the Hudson river, 
there is a deep, narrow gorge, which has been denomi- 
nated the Adirondac .Pass.* 

* The Adirondac river and mountains, in common with this pass, 
have received their name from that of the Adirondacs, or Algonquins, 
an Indian tribe who were the original occupants of the circumjacent 
region, previous to thoir expulsion bv the Iroquois. 



586 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXV. 

" This pass may be approached, in one direction,, from 
the Adirondac iron-works, from which it is distant about 
five miles. In this route, the above-mentioned branch of 
the Hudson is followed, up the whole distance, even to its 
source, — at the very base of the immense precipice that 
forms one side of the pass. 

" The whole journey has to be performed on foot ; as it 
is impossible for any vehicle or domestic animal to reach 
this gorge. The mountains which are concerned in its for- 
mation, are Mount Mclntyre upon the east, and the wall- 
faced mountain, — as it is termed by some, — on the west. 

" The route from the Adirondac iron-works, is a rapidly 
ascending one ; the rise equalling about two hundred feet 
per mile ; so that the pass is one thousand feet above the 
level of the iron-works, and about twenty-eight hundred 
feet above tide. The highest point, in the pass, however, 
is two or three hundred feet above the base of the per- 
pendicular rocks. 

" The last half mile towards this place, ascends with 
increasing rapidity ; and, on this part of the route, lie 
numbers of immense rocks, thirty and forty feet high, 
scattered over the surface ; some of which may be ascend- 
ed ; and upon their tops sufficient vegetable mould has 
accumulated to support a growth of trees, fifty feet in 
height. The sides of the mountain, opposite the perpen- 
dicular wall, are literally strewed with these rocks ; and 
as they are not properly boulders, they are objects of 
great curiosity themselves. Some of them have fallen 
partly over, or incline in such a position as would afford 
a safe shelter to a score of men. Others stand upright 
upon a narrow base ; and we wonder how, upon such a 
narrow foundation, so large and towering a mass of stone 
could have been placed in equilibrium, especially upon a 
sloping surface. 

" But the object of greatest interest, is the perpen- 
dicular precipice of a thousand feet, — a naked wall of 
rock. The face of this wall rises from the midst of an 
immense mass of loose rocks, which have been falling 
from its side, from time immemorial; and, viewing them 
as they now lie, they seem to fill an immense cleft be- 
tween the mountains ; and, probably, the bottom of this 
perpendicular precipice is really as deep below, as its 
top is high above the surface ; or, at least, its extent be- 



SCENERY.— THE ADIEONDAC PASS. 587 

low the surface, where we take the measurement, must 
be one-half as great as it is above. Upon the perpen- 
dicular surface, the rock is naked ; but where there is a 
fissure, or a jutting mass, small stunted shrubs find a 
place for establishing themselves. This wall extends 
one-half or three-fourths of a mile ; and in no place is it 
less than five hundred feet perpendicular. 

" In viewing this great precipice, no feeling of dis- 
appointment arises, in consequence of the expectation 
having exceeded the reality. The conception of this 
imposing mass of rock, necessarily falls greatly short of 
what is experienced, when it comes to be seen. Those 
who visit this pass, ought, by no means, to be satisfied with 
seeing it from below: they should look down from above, 
and over the hanging precipice. This may be done safely, 
by using due caution, in approaching its edge. No one, 
however, will attempt it without being supported, or 
venture to act under the impression that he has sufficient 
nerve to balance himself over such an abyss, where all 
objects below become indistinct, and nothing remains on 
which to rest the eye, and thus give certainty and pre- 
cision to the movements of the muscles concerned in 
maintaining the equilibrium of the body. 

" The geological facts revealed in this great exposure 
of rocks, do not differ materially from those which are 
exhibited on all sides, in this region. We are taught, 
however, something of the dynamics of geology, and of 
the inconceivable powers of those agents once active be- 
neath the crust of the earth ; for this immense mass has 
not only been elevated, but broken from one once con- 
tinuous with it; and, probably, we see only a small part 
of that which has been thus broken and elevated, 

" In conclusion, I remark that I should not have occu- 
pied so much space for the purpose of describing mei'ely 
a natural curiosity, were it not for the fact that, probably, 
in this country, there is no object of the kind, on a scale 
so vast and imposing as this. We look upon the Falls 
of Niagara with awe, and a feeling of our insignificance; 
but much more are we impressed with the great and the 
sublime, in the view of the simple naked rock of the 
Adirondac Pass." 

We regret that our limits will not admit any farther 
extension of these scenic descriptions. We have selected 



688 



NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON COLXV. 



a few, only, of the most interesting and peculiar. Such 
as are accessible in our school manuals of geography,— 
Niagara, for instance, and the lakes, — we have intention- 
ally omitted; our design being, not to exhaust any branch 
of our subject, but rather to indicate to our readers as 
many ag possible of the different sources from which 
they may, at moments of leisure, derive instruction and 
entertainment, in the perusal of works relating to their 
native state. — A few selections from local specimens in 
the department of animated nature, must now bring the 
descriptive part of this volume to a close. 





Lakk 



Hamilton county.* 



* The above representation forms another interesting specimen of 
the scenery of the smaller lakes in the northern region of the state. 



LOCAL 
OUTLINES OF NATURAL HISTORY. 

ANIMALS. 
Reading Lesson CCLXVL 

Introductory Observations. 

A VOLUME designed for practical reading lessons, al- 
though it does not admit subjects of a purely scientific 
character, or in a strictly systematic form, may justly be 
permitted to select, from the wide field of science, such 
facts as are most striking or attractive, and best adapted 
to the exercise of reading aloud. The following brief 
descriptions will, we think, be found interesting, either 
as recalling familiar and pleasing objects, or gratifying 
the natural curiosity of the mind regarding what is com- 
paratively rare. 

The natural history of New York, forms an ample and 
rich field for study, to the mind which loves to contem- 
plate the works of creative Wisdom ; and it is among the 
many advantages enjoyed by the youth of our day, that 
they possess facilities, hitherto rare, for exploring the 
world of nature, by resorting to its actual scenes and 
objects, with the aid of cabinets and specimens, as well 
as books and instruction. 

Our aim, in the following selections, is, while furnishing 
entertaining and instructive subjects for reading exer- 
cises, to contribute, in our sphere, to the formation of 
an early taste for the study of natui'al history, — a branch 
of information of indispensable utility, and abounding in 
the richest sources of genuine mental enjoyment. 

Our immediate purpose, however, will only permit us 
to offer a few selections from the most striking character- 
istics of the various animated tribes which are found within 
the limits of the state of New York ; and our descriptions 
turn, chiefly, on such as are most closely connected with 
the matter contained in previous pages of this work. 



590 KEVV-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXVL 

For the following preliminary remarks, and the descrip- 
tive details to which they are prefixed, we are indebted, 
chiefly, to the instructive and interesting researches of 
Dr. James E. De Kay, as they are presented in the am- 
ple volumes of the State Reports, — a noble monument of 
the munificence of the state toward the interests of science 
and of education. To these volumes, we trust, all our 
readers will, at future oppoitunity, resort for personal in- 
formation on the rich subjects of which they treat. 

REPTILES. 

" So general is the repugnance of mankind to the animals 
composing these classes, that their study has been over- 
looked ; and they have usually been considered as beings 
which it was not only necessary but meritorious to de- 
stroy. A part of this vulgar prejudice is derived from 
education; and, perhaps, some of it may originate from 
the fact that several of them are furnished with venomous 
fangs, capable of causing intolerable sufferings and 
death. 

" To the naturalist and physiologist, however, — to those 
who study nature, through her various modifications of 
form and structure, they present some of the most inter- 
esting objects of contemplation. Their utility, — either in 
diminishing the number of noxious animals, or in furnish- 
ing food themselves to others, — has been lost sight of; 
and, because they are cold to the touch, with a naked, 
slimy skin, without hair or feathers, they have been con- 
sidered as loathsome and hideous, although their sti'ucture 
displays as much of the omnipotence and care of the 
Creator, as can be seen in those which are considered to 
be the most gorgeous and beautiful of animated beings. 

" The number of known reptiles and amphibious ani- 
mals, throughout the world, has been variously estimated. 
It seems to be considered, by some writers, to reach to 
one thousand, three hundred species ; whilst others sup- 
pose that one thousand, five hundred scarcely comprise 
them all. As the greater number inhabit the torrid 
zone, we are not to expect to find many in the United 
States." 

In the work of Dr. De Kay, are enumerated one 
hundred and sixty-one species ; and sixty-three species 



NATURAL HISTORY.— REPTILES. 



591 



are described and figured, as found in the state of New 
York ; but he supposes the list to be far from being 
exhausted. 

Reading Lesson CCLXVII. 




The Black Snake. 

This is a bold, active, wild, and untamable animal. It 
climbs trees, with great ease, by coiling itself round the 
trunk, in a spiral manner, in search of eggs and young 
birds. Although perfectly jfi-ee from any venomous quali- 
ties,* black snakes will, on some occasions, make con- 
siderable resistance, and even pursue an enemy who 
retreats before them. In various parts of the state, they 
have the popular names of "racer," "pilot," and "black 
snake." They feed on frogs, toads, and the smaller 
quadrupeds and birds. — The system of mutual destruc- 
tion, which is, so extensively, a part of the law of nature, 
in relation to the inferior animals, was once strikingly 
exemplified, in the case of a black snake. A Georgian 
negro boy, — disposed to make a display of his personal 
courage, before his juvenile masters and their teacher, — 

* A planter, in South Carolina, wishing to overcome the cowardice, 
as he tenned it, of the horse he was riding, compelled it to approach 
and tread on a black snake, from which it had shrunk with violent 
trembling. The snake reared its head, and struck its fangs into the 
leg of the horse. Fortunately, uo worse cousequeuce ensued than a 
lui'ge swelling around the wounded spot. 



k 



592 



NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSOiX CCLXVII. 



not satisfied with killing a large reptile of this species, 
by the blow of a club, continued to strike it, for some 
time. The body of the black snake Avas thus laid open, 
and that of a " ground rattlesnake" disclosed within it. 
The little African, exulting in his double victory, com- 
menced beating the " ground-rattle," when, — to his great 
delight, — the undigested carcase of a field-mouse was, in 
turn, disengaged from the crushed body of the smaller 
snake. 

The lovers of the marvellous have attributed to this 
and many other species, the power of fascination. This 
wonderful power seems to be confined exclusively to 
birds. All the phenomena witnessed on such occasions, 
may be readily solved by the terror occasioned by the 
snake's appearance near their young, and by the well- 
known artifices resorted to, by many birds, to mislead 
an enemy. 

This is a vicious reptile; and its bite is justly dreaded. 

Its poison is consider- 
ed as deadly as that of 
a rattlesnake ; and an 
instance is recorded, 
where a horse, struck 
by one of these rep- 
tiles, died in a few 
hours. 

It has various popu- 
lar names, in different 
districts : the most common of these are, in this state, 
"copper-head," " red adder," and "dumb rattlesnake." 

The motions of this animal are sluggish; and, when 
approached, it assumes a thi'eatening aspect; raising its 
head and throwing out its tongue. It is found chiefly in 
pastures and low meadow grounds ; feeding on field- 
mice, frogs, and the smaller disabled birds. 

Many vegetable antidotes have been proposed, against 
the venomous bite of this and the rattlesnake ; but they 
all seem to depend, mainly, upon their being infused in 
large quantities of fluid. When the parts can be reached, 
after the application of a ligature, sucking the wound, 
if long continued, is commonly sufficient, together with 
copious draughts of oil, milk, or even warm water. 




The Copper-uead. 



NATURAL HISTORY.— REPTILES. 



593 




The Northern Rattlesnake. 

Although furnished with such deadly weapons, the 
rattlesnake can scarcely be termed a vicious animal ; for 
he rarely strikes, unless almost trodden upon. When 
suddenly disturbed, he throws himself into a coil, and 
warns the aggressor, by rapidly vibrating his rattles ; 
these can scarcely be heard beyond the distance of a 
few yards. This is most usually the case ; but they 
occasionally strike without the slightest warning. 

Dr. De Kay relates the following anecdote, of the im- 
pressions of the Indians regarding the rattlesnake : — 
" Some years since, I was at an Indian settlement, in the 
western part of the state, when, as we passed through a 
thick undergrowth of bushes, one of the Indians was struck 
in this sudden manner ; but as his legs were enveloped in 
thick leggings, the stroke was harmless. The other In- 
dians immediately hunted down and killed the reptile. 
They assured me, that, whenever a rattlesnake sprung 
his rattle, it was a sign that he himself was^larmed, and 
that, in such cases, they invariably spared his life." 

It is a popular but erroneous belief, that a rattle is 
added each year. This is controverted by Dr. Holbrook, 
who has known two rattles added in one year; and Dr. 
Bachman has observed four produced in the same period. 
The upper jaw of this reptile is furnished with long, curved, 



59 t NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXVIL 

acute, and hollowed fangs, wliicli are replaced by others in 
the rear, when broken off. A poison-bag which occupies 
the whole length of the jaw beneath the skin, communicates 
with these fangs, at their bases. At the moment the snake 
strikes, he ejects the venom forcibly into the wound. 

In an instance of a very large rattlesnake, from 
Florida, which was irritated, he struck violently against 
the iron wire on the side of the cage, and ejected the 
venom to the distance of three feet. The absurd notion 
of fascination is entertained by few, at the present day.* 

The rattlesnake is common, in various parts of the 
state, and, in the northern states, generally, appears to 
prefer rocky situations. . These reptiles abound in Clin- 
ton, Essex, and Warren counties, along the shores of 
lakes Champlain and George. Some idea may be formed 
of their numbers, in certain districts in this state, by the 
following extract from a Warren county paper : — " Two 
men, in three days, killed eleven hundred and four rattle- 
snakes, on the east side of Tongue mountain, in the town 
of Bolton. Some of the reptiles were very large, carry- 
ing fi'om fifteen to twenty rattles. They were killed for 
their oil, or grease, which is said to be very valuable." 

Although numerous, in the rocky, mountainous districts 
of this state, they are rare, or entirely wanting, in those 
elevated regions which give rise to the Moose, the Raquet, 
and the Hudson rivers. They are found in the counties 
of Sullivan, Ulster, Orange, and Qreene. A few still 
linger in the swamps of Suffolk county. 

* The fascination is uiidoubtedly but the paralyzing effect of fear. 
The following instance may be cited. A healthy, active, and coura- 
geous negro slave, of a plantation in the state of South Carolina, having 
rowed his master across the Savannah river, on his w^ay to a shooting 
match, hauled up his canoe on the bank, and proceeded to fasten it, 
— for greater security, — to a stake, near the water's edge. All this he 
had done, in a low stooping attitude, without happening to look around 
him. When about to raise his head, his eye fell on the form of a huge 
rattlesnake, with head raised " in act to strike," and within a few 
feet of his face "as he stooped. The negi-o was stnick both dumb and 
motionless with terror. His master, now at some distance, called to 
him, reproving him for loitering ; but seeing the slave still stooping, 
yet not stirring, he came back to see what could be the cause. He 
no sooner approached, a few steps, than he saw how matters stood, 
and, bringing his loaded rifle to the level, shot the reptile through the 
head, with the unerring aim of a Carolinian planter. The diseu- 
cViantcd African sprang up, and capered for joy at his escape. 



NATURAL HISTORY.— FISHES. 595 

It is a jjopular belief that hogs are particularly de- 
structive to tliese reptiles. This may be true to a certain 
extent; but neither their bristly hide, nor their thick 
teguments, afford them perfect immunity from the fangs 
of this serpent.* I was informed by a respectable farmer 
in Dutchess county, that he lost three hogs, in one sea- 
son, by the poison either of the copper-head or rattle- 
snake. The more probable explanation is, that the 
rattlesnake gradually disappears, and is finally extir- 
pated, before the progress of cultivation. 

Reading Lesson CCLXVIII. 

FISHES. 

The following accounts, as given by Dr. De Kay, may 
prove interesting to young readers. They regard fishes 
of which most of them possess a degree of personal knowl- 
edge, more or less extensive, according to their situation 
and opportunities. 

The common yellow perch is one of the best known 

and widely disti-ibuted 
of all our river fishes. 
Its geographical dis- 
tribution has been 
much extended', with- 
in a few years, by the 
artificial water chan- 
nels created by the 

The American Yellow Perch. ^ • r- ^ 

enterprise oi several 
of our sister republics. Thus, in the state of Ohio, it 
was common in the small lakes in the northern parts of 
the state only, and in lake Erie. Since the construction 
of the Ohio canal, we learn from Kirtland that it has 
found its way into the Ohio river, and may soon be ob- 
served in the Mississippi. 

It is common, in almost every pond and stream, through- 
out the northern and middle states, and in all the great 
lakes. It has, occasionally, been transported from one 
pond to another, with complete success. In 1790, Dr. 
Mitchill transferred some of them from Ronkonkama to 

* The desti'iiction of the young rattlesnake, l)y the pigs, while 
ranging the woods, is no ituusual sight, iu our Southern states. 




59G 



NEW- YORK CLASS-UOOK.— LESSON CCLXVIII. 



Success pond, a distance of forty miles, where they soon 
multiplied. 

In 1825, a similar experiment was made, by transport- 
ing perch from Skaneateles to Otisco and Onondaga lakes. 
In this latter case, the perch increased remarkably. The 
fish vary considerably, in size, in different localities. " I 
have caught them," says Dr. De Kay, " in Otsego lake, 
weighing nearly three pomids, and have heard of them 
exceeding this vveitrht." 




The Sea Wolf. 

The voracious and savage character of this fish, is 
manifest, in the formidable array of teeth with which he 
is provided, and by his vicious and pugnacious propen- 
sities, when first drawn from the water. Marvellous 
tales are related of the strength and power of his jaws ; 
but these more properly belong to the romance of 
natural history. 

He is known under the various popular names of 
"cat," " wolf fish," and "sea cat." His ill-favored as- 
pect causes him to be regarded with aversion by fisher- 
men ; but his flesh is by no means unsavory : when 
smoked, it is said to have somewhat the flavor of salmon. 

Sea wolf are not unfrequently taken off Rockaway 
beach, in company with the common cod. This Dr. De 
Kay supposes to be their extreme southerly limit, yet ob- 
served. In high northern latitudes, the sea wolf is said 
to attain the length of six and eig-ht feet. 



This little fish is usually found on muddy bottoms. 
Dr. De Kay mentions it as having 
frequently been brought to him, 
enclosed between the two valves 
of an oyster. " I should think it 

The Two-spiNED Toad-fish. i i ^ d i << • 

abundant, he says, m our waters, 
from the following circumstance. In the summer of 1824, 




NATURAL IIISTORY.-FISMEg. 597 

a Tiumber of these fish were found in the streets of New 
York, after a heavy shower; and many idle speculations 
were hazarded in the papers of the day, as to their origin. 
" An eminent ichthyologist, of that period, spoke of 
them ' as unknown to our waters, and not described in 
the books of ichthyology.' ' The speculation is an ex- 
ceedingly curious one, how fishes could be elevated into 
the atmosphere, and by what means kept alive, after they 
are raised.' Showers of fish are not uncommon, and are 
susceptible of an easy solution. They are raised by 
whirlwinds or water-spouts; and the tenacity of life, in 
the species under consideration, accounts for their being 
found alive." 

Reading Lesson CCLXIX. 

The " lake salmon," " lake trout," or " salmon trout," 

of the state of New 
York, occurs in most 
of the northern lakes 
of this state ; and it has 
been observed in Silver 
lake, Pennsylvania, ad- 
jacent to Broome coun- 
ty, which, is its southern- 
most limit. Its average weight is from eight to ten 
pounds ; but fishermen speak of some weighing thirty 
pounds, and even more. There is, however, such a 
strong propensity to exaggeration, in every thing per- 
taining to aquatic animals, that strict dependence cannot 
be placed on cases derived from such souixes. 

The lake trout furnish an important, and often neces- 
sary article of food, to the frontier settler. They frequent 
the deepest part of the lake, and, unlike most other trout, 
never rise to the fly. In order to take them, particular 
deep spots are selected and marked by buoys. Large 
quantities of small fish are then cut up, and thrown in at 
the buoys, for several days in succession. After having 
been thus baited, and accustomed to resort to the spot, 
they are then readily taken by the hook. Some idea of 
their abundance may be formed from the fact, that a 
single fisherman has been known to capture, on Paskun- 
gameh or Long Lake, five hundred weight, in the course 
of a week. 




The Lake Salmon Trout. 




598 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CCLXLX. 

Tills fish, — which has its name, probably, more from 

^. the appearance of its 

v.vv>.\<A^^ mouth and teeth, than 

from the profile of its 

head, and its curved 

nose and forehead, — 

appears on our shores 

^" ■ ' in June. They enter 

^^ the shallow bays on 

Long: Island, where 

The Sheepshead. ^i i ^ i i 

they are caught by the 

seine, occasionally, in great numbers. They are a wary, 
timid fish ; and to take them by the hook, requires much 
dexterity. If the season is mild, they are found here as 
late as the middle of October, but more usually they dis- 
appear in September. 

Dr. Mitchill supposes that the sheepshead depart from 
our shores to the unknown depths of the ocean ; it is more 
probable that they return to warmer latitudes, along the 
coast. They occasionally weigh from twelve to fifteen 
pounds, but are then not as valuable as those of a smaller 
size. 

This fibh is known under the various names of " bony- 
fish, " "hard-head," 
" mossbonkers," (or as 
it is pronounced by 
our Dutch inhabitants, 
"morsebonkers,") "pan- 
hagen " and " men- 
Thk Mossbonker. haden ;" the last being 

the name given by the Manhattans, and " panhagen," 
the Narraganset epithet. At the east end of the island, 
they are called " skippangs" or " bunkers." 

Although seldom eaten, — as it is dry, without flavor, and 
full of bones, — yet this is one of the most valuable fish found 
within our waters. Its use, as a manure, is well known, 
in the counties of Suffolk, Kings, and Queens, where it is 
a source of great wealth to the farmer who lives upon the 
seacoast. Mossbonkers are used in various ways : for In- 
dian corn, two or three are thrown upon a hill ; for wheat, 
they are thrown broadcast on the field, and ploughed un- 
der; although it is not uncommon to put them in layers 




NATURAL HISTORY.— FISHES. 



599 



alternately with common mould, and, when decomposed, 
to spread the compost, like any other. Its effects in reno- 
vating old grass-fields, are very remarkable. 

The mossbonkers appear on the shores of Long Island, 
about the beginning of June, in immense scholes ;* and 
as they frequently swim with a part of the head above or 
near the surface of the water, they are readily seen and 
captured. They are commonly sold, on the spot, at the rate 
of two dollars the wagon-load, containing about a thousand 
fish. At Bridgehampton, at the east end of the island, 
eighty-four wagon-loads, or in other words, eighty-four 
thousand fish, were, in one instance, taken at a single haul. 

This common fish has one rare and beautiful peculiarity, 

connected with light 
and color. It has, on 
each side of the snout, a 
space extending back- 
ward, nearly to the 
orbits, so translucent, 
that any dark sub- 
stance may be seen 
through it. This space 
is filled with gelatinous 
The Clear-nosed Ray. fluid, through which the 

blood-vessels may be seen beautifully displayed. This 
fish is found of all sizes, from one to three feet ; and, 
although not in high estimation as a luxury of the table, 
is, in some parts of our country, extensively used as an 
article of substantial food. 

The Oceanic Vampire, or Sea Devil. — This is one of^ 
those huge monsters of the deep, which are occasionally 
captured along our shores. It has been known to seize 
the cables of small vessels at anchor, and draw them for 
several miles, with great velocity. An instance of this 
kind was related by a credible eye-witness, as having oc- 
curred in the harbor of Charleston. A schooner lying at 
anchor, was suddenly seen moving across the harbor, with 
great rapidity, impelled by some unknown and mysterious 
power. Upon approaching the opposite shore, its course 

* Dr. De Kay justly remarks that this word should always preserve 
this primitive orthography, as the proper distmction from the merely 
popular coniiptions of " shoal" and " school." 




600 



NEW-YORK CLASS-DOOK.— LESSON CCLXX. 



was changed so suddenly as nearly to capsize the vessel, 
when it again crossed the harbor, with its former velocity; 
and the same scene was repeated, when it approached the 
shore. These mysterious flights across the harbor, were 
repeated, several times, in the presence of hundreds of 
spectators, — then suddenly ceased. 



Reading Lesson CCLXX. 



QUADRUPEDS. 




TiiE Black Beak. 



This animal, once so numerous in this state, — is now 

chiefly to be found 
in the mountainous 
and thinly-inhabited 
districts. It does not 
eat animal food from 
choice, and never, 
unless pressed by 
hunger: it prefers 
berries and fruits. 

In the forests in 
the northern parts 
of the state, a tor- 
nado will sometimes 
sweep through a region, prostrating the pines, to an ex- 
tent of many miles. In the course of a few years, the 
wild-cherry springs up, in great numbers, on this tract ; 
and, in the fruit season, it becomes the resort of numerous 
bears.* It also feeds upon the whortle-berry, grapes, 
honey, persimmons, and roots of various kinds. 

Its fondness for sweet things, is evident whenever it 
enters an apple orchard, invariably selecting the sweetest 
kinds. It will also devour eggs, insects, and small quad- 
rupeds, and birds ; but when it has abundance of its 
favorite vegetable food, will pass the carcass of a deer 
without touching it. The bear is an imitative animal ; 

* The effects of such a tornado were observed in Hamilton county 
in the summer of 1840, near Eighth lake. The course of the wind- 
fall, — as it is popularly called, — was from west to east. It extended 
thirty miles, with a breadth varying from half a mile to two miles. 
This occurred fifteen years ago. It has been subsequently burned 
over, and abounds iu poplar, white bii'ch, wild-cherries, wild rasp- 
berries, etc., which attracted to this disnict great numbers of deer 
and numerous bears. 



NATURAL HISTORY.— QUADRUPEDS. 601 

and hence, when it meets a man, it will rise on its liind- 
legs, but is apparently soon satisfied with the comparison, 
and endeavors to make its escape. It is a great traveller, 
and, when pursued by tracking, has been known to per- 
form long journeys. It never makes immediately for its 
retreat, but approaches it in a circling manner. 

A bear was started, near Schroon, some years since, 
and, after a chase of eighteen days, was finally killed. 
Although seldom seen during the chase, y^et he appeared 
to be fully aware that he was an object of pursuit ; and 
the worn and lacerated condition of his feet testified to 
his exertions to escape. 

Bears ai'e numerous along the borders of the Saranac, 
and in the mountainous regions of Rockland and Greene. 
Occasionally, they invade the enclosures of the farmer, in 
search of potatoes and Indian corn. Their depredations 
are, however, speedily checked ; for they are timid, and 
will never attack a man, unless previously wounded, or 
in defence of their young. 

Some of the hunters imagine that there are two 
varieties of the common black bear, viz., the short- 
legged and the long-legged ; but others think that the 
difference is owing entirely to the fact that some are 
fatter and more robust, which produces an apparent 
difference in the length of their legs. 

The " yellow bear" of Carolina, and the " cinnamon 
bear" of the northern regions, are varieties of this spe- 
cies. In this state, they retire with the first fall of snow, 
to caverns, or to the hollow of some decayed tree, or be- 
neath a prostrate tree, during the winter, and pass three 
or four months in a state of torpidity. For more southern 
latitudes, the hybernation is of shorter duration, and 
ceases to occur, when the mildness of the winter enables 
them to procure food. They are fat, when they enter 
their winter quarters, and much emaciated, when they 
leave them in the spring. Indeed, this condition of fat- 
ness is so necessary, that, when the supply of food is cut 
off", instead of retiring to winter quarters, they migrate 
southwardly to warmer regions. 

The flesh of the bear is savory, but rather luscious, and 
tastes not unlike pork. It was once so common an article 
of food in New York, as to have given the name of " bear 
market" to one of the principal markets in the city. 
C c 



602 



NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CCLXXI. 




This is a very troublesome and destructive animal. It 
has been known to follow "a 
sable line" of forty or fifty 
miles, destroying every trap 
for the purpose of obtaining 
the bait. Much of the fic- 
^:^ titious history of this animal 
is founded on the circum- 
Thk Wolverene. Stance that the name of wol- 

vei'ene is also applied to the Bay lynx ; and in this way 
we are to account for its habit of climbing trees, etc. 
attributed to it by Lawson, Buffon, and others. It de- 
stroys great numbers of the smaller quadrupeds. The 
celebi-ated half-breed Indian, John Hunter, informed Dr. 
De Kay that it was called gwmg-gicah-gay by the In- 
dians of his tribe, which he interpreted " a tough thing," 
or, as he afterwards explained it, " a hard character," — 
in allusion to its mischievous disposition. He said that 
he had known it to be domesticated, and employed by 
the Indians to catch beaver. 

The wolverene was formerly found as far south as 
Carolina ; but its southern limits, at present, do not ex- 
tend south of the forty-second degree. To the north, it 
extends to the polar sea, as high as the seventy-fifth de- 
gree of north latitude. 



Reading Lesson CCLXXI. 

This is a very pretty and active little animal, inhabiting 
the elevated and wooded dis- 
tricts in the northern parts of 
the state. It lives entirely in 
trees, and is a nocturnal ani- 
mal, and excessively carnivo- 
rous ; feeding on mice, birds' 
eerors, squirrels, etc. The fe- 

The Bable. h& ' 1 • j' 1 m 

males are said to be smaller 
than the males. It has been tamed ; but from its petu- 
lant character, is never docile. 

The fur of this animal is exceedingly beautiful, and 
highly esteemed. The hunters say that, as you proceed 
north, the fur becomes darker and more valuable ; but 
this seems rather a peculiarity in certain districts. 




NATURAL HISTORY.-aUADRUPEDS. 603 

The sable is exceedingly active, and destroys great 
quantities of squirrels, — the red squirrel only occasionally 
escaping by its superior agility. It is so prolific, and 
finds the means of living with so much ease, that it would 
long since have multiplied to a great extent, were it not 
hunted so perseveringly, for its fur. 

The hunting season for the sable, in this state, begins 
about the tenth of October, and ends in the middle of 
April. The hunters assert, that in the beech-nut season, 
when they are very abundant, the sable will not touch 
bait of any kind ; believing that, at that time, it feeds 
upon these nuts. It is probable, however, that the abund- 
ance of nuts attracts great numbers of the smaller quad- 
rupeds, which are thus offered an easy prey to the sable. 

A line of traps for these animals, technically called "a 
sable line," sometimes extends sixty or seventy miles, con- 
taining six to ten traps in a mile, according to the nature of 
the ground. The construction of these traps is exceedingly 
simple. The hunter cuts off'long chips from the nearest tree, 
and drives them into the ground, forming three sides of a 
square, about six inches across ; the top is covered with 
spruce boughs. The bait, which is either a bit of venison, 
mice, or red squirrel, or any other small animal, is put on 
the end of a round stick, and placed within the trap, 
resting on a round stick lying on the ground across the 
open end ; on this i-ests a short, upright stick, supporting 
a heavy log or small tree. Any disturbance of the bait 
causes the log to fall, and crush the animal. These traps 
are visited once a fortnight, and oftener, if practicable. 
The wolverene, as we have before remarked, will often 
desti-oy these traps, by breaking into them behind, and 
eat up not only the bait, but the captured animal. 

The American otter, — once so numerous in evei-y part of 
of the state, — is now exceed- 
ingly scarce. In the coun- 
ties of Kings, Queens, Suf- 
folk, and Richmond, it is now 
^ extirpated. In the northern 
■ districts, it is yet sufficiently 
^^'^ numerous to become an 6b-> 
The Otter. ject of pursuit. The hunting 

season, for the otter, commences, there, about the twentieth 




604 



NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXXIL 



of September, and continues until the middle of May; and 
its fur ranks, in value, next to that of the beaver : a good 
skin is w^orth eight dollars. They are used by hatters 
for the finer sorts of hats, and are also converted into 
cosily caps. 

The otter is a sagacious, wary animal; selecting low 
swampy grounds, near a pond or running stream, for his 
abode. He makes an excavation in the bank, which 
opens under water, and a small breathing-hole to the sur- 
face of the ground. Like the beaver, he is too sagacious 
to be caught by any bait in a trap ; and, accordingly the 
steel trap is placed in the water, beneath the exit from 
their burrow, or at the bottom of one of their " slides." 

These " otter-slides," — as they are termed — form one 
of the most interesting peculiarities in the history of the 
animal, and almost approach the fabulous. In winter, 
they select a high bank of snow, and amuse themselves 
for hours in sliding down, head foremost. In summer, 
they choose a steep bank by the side of a stream, which 
terminates in deep water, and indulge there in the same 
recreation. — Dr. De Kay says, that, although he had 
never seen the animal thus employed, the alleged habit 
is universally believed among hunters ; and he mentions 
that he had seen, in the uninhabited northern districts of 
the state, many of the places which had been used as 
slides, and which pointed out, to the keen eye of the 
hunter, a sure sign of numerous otters in the vicinity. 

The otter is capable of being domesticated, and lives 
principally on fish and other aquatic animals. They live 
in small families, like the beaver. 



Reading Lesson CCLXXIL 

This animal, in this state, confines its depredations, 

chiefly, to deer and other 
animals. In some of the 
southern counties, where 
they were formerly so 
numerous as to require 
legislative enactments, 
they are now entirely ex- 
tirpated. VanderDonck, 
The Ambrican Wolf. when writing from New 




NATURAL IIIrfTORV.— aUADRUPEDS. 



605 



York, about the year 1645, says, that one of the principal 
objections to keeping sheep in the colony, was the number 
of wolves. They are still found in the mountainous and 
•wooded parts of the state, and, we believe, are most nu- 
merous in St. Lawrence and the adjacent counties. 

We have been assured by intelligent hunters, that their 
ravages among deer are so great, that they destroy five to 
one killed by man. They follow deer either singly, or in 
packs of eight or ten, with all the ardor of a pack of hounds, 
and with a prolonged howl. They usually select a young 
or injured deer, and trust more to tire him down, than to 
overtake him by superior speed. 

In summer, their prey easily escapes by taking to the 
water ; but in winter, the same instinct leads to his imme- 
diate capture ; for, on the ice, the wolf quickly overtakes 
him. Towards spring, there is scaixely a lake, in the 
north of the state, that has not numerous carcasses of deer 
on its frozen surface. In most of the counties, bounties, 
varying from ten to twenty dollars a head, are offered for 
the wolf,— paid partly by the state, and partly by the 
county and the township. 

Our wolves are equally voracious and cowardly, — flying 
before man. These animals have been known, however, 
when satiating their hunger, over the carcass of a deer, to 
snarl and snap at the approach of a man, and only to leave 
their prey reluctantly, when he arrived almost within strik- 
ing: distance. 



This animal varies, considerably, in weight and size; 

some weighing fifteen 
pounds ; but such are 
not common : the more 
usual weight is from 
eight to ten pounds. 
Although foxes of this 
species burrow well, yet 
it is not uncommon to 
find them taking posses- 
sion of the burrows of 
the skunk, for the pur- 
pose of rearing their 
young. Richardson states that they burrow, in summer, 
and, in winter, take refuge under a fallen tree. 




The Red Fox. 



606 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXXU. 

They feed on the smallei" quadrupeds and birds, and 
are accused of destroying lambs. Tliey make occasional 
forays upon the barnyard ; but, in this respect, they are 
not so daring as the other species, and, perhaps, in some 
measure compensate for these injuries, by destroying 
field-mice and other noxious vermin. 

The grey fox, is bolder and more astute, if possible, than 
the red one, and more frequently prowls about bani-yards. 
Very little, however, is known of his habits, beyond his 
destructive propensities. 

In the early settlement of this state, this animal was 

i^w believed to be a lion ; 

^^^ and we find in Van der 

^^^^ftfeaw Donck's History of the 

^^^^^^^t^,. New Netherlands, the 

/f^^^F-'S^^- " '' \ following passage in 

- _-i7V ^""^^ ^" ^ C^ relation to this subject : 

"^^^' ^^"^''•■--^^,-'r%^ "Although the New 

— -^.-y-.__ ^'^^1^^ Netherlands lie in a 

- ~ '^^=^^s;^^:==^-=.feZ.-.-~-^£-^^-r^ fierce climate, and the 

The Northern Panther. COUntry, in winter, 

seems rather cold, nev- 
ertheless lions are found there, but not by the christians, 
who have traversed the land without seeing one. It is 
only known to us by the skins of the females, which are 
sometimes brought in for sale, by the natives. In reply 
to our inquiries, they say that the lions are found far 
to the southwest, — a distance of from fifteen to twenty 
days' journey ; that they live in very high mountains, and 
that the males are too active and fierce to be taken." 

In this state, the panther is most numerous in the rocky 
northern disti'icts, and, particularly, in the counties of Her- 
kimer, Hamilton, and St. Lawrence. Panthers are occa- 
sionally seen among the Kaaterskill mountains ; and the 
specimen in the New- York museum, which has served as 
a basis for many marvellous legends, was obtained from 
this locality. 

The animal appears rarely by daylight, unless hard 
pressed for food, but usually conceals itself behind fallen 
trees or rocks, until evening. It prefers, for its usual re- 
treat, ledges of rocks, inaccessible to man, which are 
known familiarly to the hunters, under the name of 



NATURAL HISTORY.- aUADRUPEDS. 607 

"pat)ther ledges." This animal wanders, however, over 
large tracts of country, in search of its prey, but rarely 
leaves the forests. When followed by dogs, it takes to 
the nearest tree, and, looking down upon its assailants, 
makes a noise like the purring of a cat, but much louder. 
The screams attributed to this animal, during the night, 
are supposed, by many hunters, to proceed from some 
species of owl. It preys upon deer, and all the smaller 
quadrupeds, not even refusing the Canada porcupine. 
Occasionally, this creature takes to the water, but swims 
deeply and badly. 

The panther is an animal of undoubted strength and 
ferocity ; and, under certain circumstances, such as are 
so graphically depicted by our celebrated novelist Cooper, 
may be induced to take a stand before the hunter. Dr. 
De Kay says, that, notwithstanding the various stories of 
their ferocity and courage, he had never met with a well 
authenticated account of the panther having attacked a 
man. In this, he says, he is sustained by the testimony of 
every hunter he has conversed with ; they represent these 
creatures as' uniformly cowardly, and retreating as quickly 
as possible from the face of man. Professor Emmons 
states, that most of the tales relating to its depredations, 
are fictitious ; and that, in the part of St. Lawrence county 
where they were most numerous, no instance is known of 
their having destroyed a single individual, man or child. 

"I was told," says Dr. De Kay, "by a hunter, that, 
upon one occasion, he met with a female panther and 
two of her cubs. They were quite helpless, and he took 
them up in his arms ; the mother following at some dis- 
tance, and stopping whenever he stopped, without ventur- 
ing to attack him. In this way, she followed him, for 
two or three miles, when, as he approached a settlement, 
she finally disappeared. 

" Panthers have been known, however, to approach the 
shanty of the hunter, attracted, no doubt, by the fire or the 
smell of victuals ; but the smallest movement on the part of 
the hunter, would be the signal for thteir disappearance." 

The geographical range of the cougar, panther or 
catamount, is very extensive. About fifteen years ago, 
one was shot near Montpelier, in Vermont ; and a few 
have been occasionally observed in Massachusetts. The 
present northern limits of this animal, do not, probably, 



COS 



.NEW YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXXIII. 




■,tBSt!^B7'^'S^f?^^- 




TuB- Wild Cat. 



extend beyond New York. To the south, its limits are 
not well defined. It is said to extend through the inter- 
tropical regions to Paraguay. 

Reading Lesson CCLXXIII. 

The "wild cat," or bay lynx, is one of the animals 

mentioned as very com- 
inon in the colony, at 
its first settlement. A 
\ hundred and thirty years 
^^ ago, they were so numer- 
ous in Suffolk county, as 
to require the interpo- 
_ sition of the legislature. 
^^^^^^^ An act was passed in the 
" general assembly, to en- 

courage the destruction of 
wild cats ; and, in 1745, it was still found necessary to re- 
new this act. At present, it is believed that they are 
entirely extirpated from the eastern counties of the state. 
They are still found in the more northern &nd western 
counties, in the wooded districts, where they prey upon 
birds and the smaller quadrupeds. 

The common seal, or sea dog, as it is frequently call- 
ed, is now comparative- 
ly rare in our waters, 
but was formerly very 
abundant. A certain 
^v,..,,,^ reef of rocks in the har- 
■i ^ -^^ ^o^ ^^ New York, is 
~" '>b;::::i%^^^=' j:_-^__- £L',;=^^^^ Called "Robin's reef," 
"^=<r^==r^^r^^^~~- " from the numerous 

^ g seals which were ac- 

customed to resort 
there ; robin or robyn being the name, in Dutch, for seal. 
At some seasons, even at the present day, they are very 
numerous, particularly about the Execution rocks in the 
Sound ; but their visits appear to be very capricious. 

In the warm weather of summer, they are often to be 
seen, swimming with their heads above the water, and, 
occasionally, basking on the low reefs, in the bays and 
along the shores of New England. 





NATURAL HISTORY.-aUADRUPEDS. 609 

This little animal is well known, throughout this state. 

The expanded fold of its skin 

is, in many species, supported 

by a small bone, articulated to 

the wrist. In the American 

species, this is rudimentary. 

By the aid of this membrane, 

-'*»%^ they are enabled to dart from 

fA%, one tree to another, not by an 

actual movement of the mem- 
The Fltino Squirrel. -, , 

brane, as we have seen among 

bats; but by sailing obliquely, downwards, and rising sud- 
denly, when within a few inches of the tree upon which 
they mean to alight. In this sailing movement, they are 
aided, and, perhaps, slightly guided, by their broadly-ex- 
panded tail. 

They form their nests in hollow trees, from which they 
are easily roused by striking on the trunk. They are of 
a gentle disposition, and easily domesticated ; are fond 
of warmth, and will sleep during the whole day, closely 
pressed against the body of their master. At twilight, 
they arouse themselves, and afford much entertainment 
by sailing about the room ; always commencing their 
flight by climbing to a chair, table, or shelf. They live 
exclusively on nuts, seeds, and buds. 

Tlie woodchucTc, or ground-Jiog, — as it is sometimes 
called, — is common in almost every county in the state. 
In some places, it appears to select pine forests for its 
abode ; and, in others, it ajjpears to prefer cleared lands 
and old pastures. 

It feeds on clover and other succulent vegetables, and 
hence is often injurious to the farmer. Its gait is awk- 
ward, and not rapid ; but its extreme vigilance and acute 
sense of hearing prevent it from being often captured. 
It forms deep and long burrows in the earth, to which it 
flies, upon the least alarm. 

It appears to be social in its habits ; for, upon one 
occasion, were noticed some thiity or forty burrows in a 
field of about five acres. These burrows contain large 
excavations, in which the woodchucks deposit stores of 
provisions. This animal hybernates during the winter, 
having first carefully closed the entrance of its burrow, 
c c * 




610 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSOiN CCLXXIV. 



Rkading Lesson CCLXXIV. 

This animal, whose skin once formed so important an 
article of commerce to this 
state, as to have been incor- 
porated in the ancient armo- 
rial bearings of the colony, is 
now nearly extirpated within 
its limits. Beaver-skins even 
\% constituted a certain standard 
of value, and were a portion 

TuK Beaver. r 4.\ • ^ ^' „_ t 

oi the Circulating medium. 
Thus, in 1697, we find that governor Fletcher made a cer- 
tain grant of a tract of land on the Mohawk ; and the con- 
sideration named in the deed, was one beaver-skin for the 
first year, and five, annually, forever after. 

According to a letter, from the Dutch West-India com- 
pany, preserved in the Albany records, we learn, that, in 
1624, four hundred beaver-skins and seven hundred otter- 
skins were exported ; the number increased in 1635, to 
fourteen thousand, eight hundred and ninety-one beaver- 
skins, and one thousand, four hundred and thirteen otter- 
skins ; and the whole number, in ten years, was eighty 
thousand, one hundred and eighty-three beavers, and 
seven thousand, three hundred and forty-seven otters ; 
amounting, in value, to seven hundred and twenty-five 
thousand, one hundred and seventeen guilders. 

In the same letter, the directors complain that beavers 
have become exceedingly scarce ; having been sold at 
seven guilders apiece, and even more. One of the earliest 
legislative enactments by the rulers of the colony, was in 
reference to the peltry trade ; and William De Kay, the 
ancestor of the distinguished naturalist, was appointed 
receiver of the duties on beaver and bear skins. 

In 1815, a party of St. Regis Indians, from Canada, 
ascended the Oswegatchie river, in the county of St. Law- 
rence, in pui'suit of beaver. In consequence of the pre- 
vious hostilities between this country and England, this 
district had not been hunted, for seven years; and the 
beaver had consequently been undisturbed. The party, 
after an absence of a few weeks, returned with three 
hundred beaver-skins. But, since that time, very few 
have been observed. 



NATURAL HISTORY.-aUADRUPEDS. 611 

The beaver has been so much harassed in this state, 
that it has ceased making dams, and contents itself with 
making large excavations in the banks of streams. Within 
the year 1841, beaver were seen on Indian and Cedar riv- 
ers, and at Paskungameh or Tapper's lake ; and, although 
they are not numerous, yet they are still found, in scattered 
families, in the northern part of Hamilton, the southern 
part of St. Lawrence, and the western part of Essex 
counties. 

The beaver exercises great ingenuity in the construc- 
tion of its dwelling; but this ingenuity has been much 
exaggerated ; and, perhaps, no animal has served for the 
foundation of so many fables. The instinct of self-pres- 
ervation is, doubtless, very strong ; and its sagacity is such, 
that, were it not for the signs near its abode, made evident 
by the stout twigs and trees gnawed and cut down, it 
would never be discovered. Whenever these chips are 
noted, the wary hunter proceeds to examine the bank, in 
order to detect at what particular spot the beaver takes 
to the water. The castor bags of the beaver, or " bark- 
stone," as it is termed by the hunters, is then rubbed on 
twigs near the spot, and a common steel trap is so placed, 
under the water, as to spring when the animal dives 
against it. 

The beaver is strictly a nocturnal animal, and is ex- 
ceedingly active in its movements. It advances, on land, 
by a series of successive leaps, of ten or twelve feet, in 
which it is powerfully assisted by its tail, which it brings 
down with a resounding noise. 

It feeds chiefly upon the roots of aquatic plants, and the 
bark of soft- wooded trees, such as birch, poplar, willow, 
and elder. We have been assured by hunters, that beav- 
ers feed, also, on fish ; and for this, their aquatic abodes 
and habits would appear well adapted. It may be, that, 
in the selection of their dwellings, they design to protect 
themselves against cai-nivorous animals. 

" The materials," says Dr. Godman, " used for the 
construction of their dams, are the trunks and branches 
of small birch, mulberry, willow, and poplar trees. When 
they build on a running stream, their timber is always 
cut, or rather, gnawed down, at a place higher up the 
stream, than that of their residence, and floated down to 
it. Their building material they begin to cut down 



612 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCLXXV. 

early in summer ; but their edifices are not commenced 
till the middle or latter part of August. The strength 
of their teeth, and their perseverance in their work, may 
be fairly estimated by the size of the trees they cut 
down. We were shown, while on the banks of the 
Little Miami river, sevei-al stumps of trees, — which had 
been evidently felled by these animals, — of at least five 
or six inches in diameter." The number of trees cut 
down, near a single dam, is, sometimes, so large as to 
leave the appearance of a " clearing" effected by the 
hand of man. 

This is an inoffensive animal, and very gentle in its 
manners. It feedson theleaves 
^ and bark of the hemlock, the 
bassvvood, and the ash. It is 
also fond of sweet apples, 
maize, &c., and will scarcely 
refuse any vegetable offered to 
it, when tamed. Porcupines 
move very sluggishly, di-ag- 
o^ing their tail on the s^round. 
^^^ When irritated, they make 

The American Po^piTe. ^ f^^^^' shining noise, and by 

a strong, circular, muscle the 
spines of the back and sides are erected, and extended 
in various directions ; the tail is also erected ; and, by a 
very sudden movement of it, the animal is enabled to 
strike, leaving the loosened spines in the body of his op- 
ponent. From their peculiar structure, these penetrate, 
at every movement, until they reach a vital part. Hence 
the porcupine is rarely attacked, although the hunters 
easily kill it by a blow on its nose. 

The Indians esteem its flesh, — which resembles youno- 
pork, — very highly. The animal dwells in hollow trees, 
or in caves under rocks. The spines are employed ex- 
tensively by the Indians, after having been dyed of various 
colors, to form ornaments for their dresses. 

The porcupine is found in all the Northern states : in 
New York, Pennsylvania, the northern parts of Virginia, 
Kentucky, and through the western regions, to the Rocky 
Mountains. In this state, more particularly in the north- 
ern and Vv'estern counties, the species are quite numerous. 



NATURAL HISTORY.— aUADRUPEDS. 



613 




The American Dker. 



Reading Lesson CCLXXV. 

This well-known animal is still found in almost every 

part of the state, where 
there is sufficient forest 
to afford it food and co- 
vert. From the moun- 
tainous regions of Or- 
ange, Rockland, and 
Delaware, the city 
market of New York 
is supplied, in great 
abundance, during the 
winter. In the most 
northerly counties, 
these animals are not 
numerous; and, in oth- 
er counties, the united 
attacks of men and 
wolves, are daily de- 
creasing their number. In some insulated districts, as 
on Long Island, where the wolf has been extirpated, 
and the deer are placed under the protection of the laws, 
during certain seasons, although more than a hundred are 
annually killed by sportsmen, yet it is believed that their 
number is actually on the increase. 

When alarmed, they stamp, quickly and often, on the 
ground, and emit a sound like a shrill whistle, which may 
be heard at a great distance. When mortally wounded, 
they often give a faint bleat, like that of a calf When 
brought to bay, the deer throws off its habitual timidity ; 
its eyes glare fiercely around, every hair on its body 
bristles up, and appears as if directed forward ; and it 
dashes boldly upon its foe. 

The horns of this animal are cast, usually, in the win- 
ter ; but the period appears to depend much on the lati- 
tude, and the mildness or severity of the season. While 
growing, the horns are covered with a velvet-like mem- 
brane, which peels off, as soon as they have attained their 
growth. It has often been a matter of surprise, that, while 
so many horns are annually cast, so few are ever found. 
This is to be explained by the fact, that, as soon as shed, 
they are eaten up by the smaller gnawing animals. 



C14 KKVV-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCLXXV. 

The deer is an exceedingly useful animal, — not only as 
furnishing an excellent article of food to the settlers in 
frontier counties, where it would be impracticable to ob- 
tain any other meat, but, also, as furnishing the buckskin 
of commerce. It feeds on buds and twigs of trees, shrubs, 
berries, and grasses. It appears to be particularly fond 
of the buds and flowers of the pond-lily. 

The moose, in its ungainly form and awkward move- 
ments, presents a singular contrast to the elegance and 
graceful motions of the other members of its family. It 
is known, with us, under the various names of " ilat-horned 
elk," "black elk," "moose," and "black moose," the 
name " moose" being a corruption of the Indian appella- 
tion, musee, or xoood-eater . 

In the earliest history of our state, (that of Van der 
Donck,) the following allusion is made to this animal : 
" There is also another kind, which are represented to be 
large, and about which strange stories are related. I 
heard from the mouth of a Jesuit, who had been taken 
prisoner by the Mohawk Indians, that there were many 
wild forest oxen in Canada and Nova-Scotia, as large as 
horses ; having long hair on their neck, like the mane of a 
horse, but with cloven hoofs ; and their habits were not 
fierce." , 

In the summer, the moose frequents the neighborhood 
of lakes and streams, frequently swimming in the water, 
and feeding upon aquatic plants, among which the roots 
of the pond-lily appear to be most greedily devoured. It 
also feeds upon the high coarse grasses, and twigs of trees, 
more especially of the striped, maple, which has conse- 
quently received the name of " moose-wood." It like- 
wise peels old trees, and feeds upon the bark. 

In winter, the moose herd together for mutual protec- 
tion, selecting hilly woods, and feeding exclusively on 
young twigs, and the moss and bark of trees. Occasion- 
ally, several of these herds unite ; and when the snow 
lies deep, they will tread down a space of several acres, 
which are termed by the hunters, "moose-yards." At this 
season, and, in such situations, the hunters attack them 
most successfully. 

They are yet numerous in the unsettled portions of 
the state, in the counties of Essex, Herkimer, Hamilton, 
Franklin, Lewis, and Warren; and, since the gradual 



NATURAL HISTORY.-QCADRUPEDS. 615 

removal of the Indians, they ai"e now believed to be on 
the increase. 

The moose is a timid, w^ary animal; and its senses of 
hearing and smelling are so acute, that it I'equires the 
greatest caution, on the part of the hunter, to approach it. 

The moose furnishes an excellent material, fi'om its 
hide, for moccasins and snow-shoes. The best skin is 
obtained from the male moose, in October. These animals 
were formerly so numerous about Raquet lake, that the 
Indians and French Canadians resorted thither, to obtain 
their hides, for the purpose mentioned ; and hence we 
have the origin of the name of that lake, the word raquet 
meaning " snow-shoes." The moose still exists in the 
neighborhood. 

This animal, when pursued, trots off with great rapid- 
ity, but in an awkward manner ; its hoofs, at the same 
time, making a crackling noise. At this gait, it soon 
leaves the hunter far behind, stepping with great ease 
over fallen timber of the largest size. When hard pressed 
by the hunters, on snow-shoes, if it breaks up into a gal- 
lop, they are sure of overtaking it soon. Its flesh is much 
esteemed ; and the meat of the young can scarcely be dis- 
tinguished from the best veal. The moose, when taken 
young, is easily domesticated, and has been used, in this 
state, for draught. 

The American stag has long been confounded with the 
stag of Europe; but was fii'st fully described and figured 
by ]3r. Smith, in the Medical Repository, from living indi- 
viduals, obtained from the state of Maine. It has also, from 
the popular names applied to it, been confounded with 
the American moose just noticed. It is called, in various 
parts of the country, "red deer," "stag," " gi'ey moose," 
"la biche," "wapiti," "grey elk," and "round-horned 
elk." It is surprising that, for so large, and, in some dis- 
tricts, so common an animal, so little is known of its 
habits. Animals of this species feed on grass, and the 
young shoots of trees, and are represented as being easily 
tamed, and have been trained to go in harness. Hearne ob- 
serves that they are the most stupid of the deer kind, and 
make a shrill whistling noise, not very unlike the braying 
of an ass. Other writers, however, represent them as ex- 
ceedingly astute and wary, exercising great sagacity to 
avoid the snares of the hunter. 



616 KEVV-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXXVL 

The stag is still found in the state of New York, but 
very sparingly, and will, doubtless, be extirpated, before 
many years. It is found in the northwestern counties of 
Pennsylvania, and the adjoining counties of New York. 

Reading Lesson CCLXXVI. 

The Great Mastodon. — From an early period in the 
history of this country, after its settlement by Europeans, 
large bones were occasionally found, which excited con- 
siderable speculation. They were considered, — according 
to the intelligence of their respective discoverers and com- 
mentators, — as having belonged to a race of giants or 
fallen angels, or to have belonged to elephants. It was 
reserved for Cuvier, to show that they belonged to an ani- 
mal generically distinct from the elephant, but allied to it 
in bulk, habits, and other paTticulars. Since that time, 
numerous species have been described, in various parts 
of the world. 

In this state, the remains of this animal were discovered 
near Claverack, as early as 1705, and formed the subject 
of a note from the celebrated Dr. Mather, which appeared 
in the English Philosophical Transactions, 1705, July 23 : 
" There is a prodigious tooth brought here, supposed to be 
the tooth of a man, from the shape. It weighs four pounds 
and three quarters. It was dug up on the side of a hill, 
thirty or forty feet under gi'ound, near a place called 
Claverack; about thirty miles this side of Albany. Ic is 
looked upon here as a mighty wonder, whether the tooth 
be of man or beast. Other bones Avere dug up, which 
crumbled away, upon exposure to air. They say one of 
them, which is thought to be a thigh bone, was seventeen 
feet long." 

In 1702, remains of this animal were found in a swamp 
near Montgomery, Orange county, and, in greater numbers, 
at Shawangunk, Ulster county. Shortly after, portions of 
eight distinct individuals were discovered within eight or 
ten miles of Montgomery. In 1801, Mr. Peale succeeded 
in disinterring, from this region, an almost entire skeleton. 

Since that period, other localities have been discovered. 

The great mastodon, or mammoth,* as it is sometimes 

* Tlie impropriety consists inerely in using a term ^^th^ch had been 
specially applied, by the inhabitants of Siberia, to a fossil elephant. 



NATURAL HISTOUY.— aUAURUPEDS. 617 

improperly called, equalled or exceeded the elephant, in 
bulk, and greatly resembled him, in shape. The greatest 
difference, in this latter particular, was in the elevation of 
the fore-shoulders ; while, in the elephant, the back was 
regularly arched. 

Cuvier, from examination, inferred that the lower part 
of the body must have been smaller, than in the elephant ; 
and this, in connection with the structure of the teeth, 
leads us to the conclusion that the mastodon did not ex- 
clusively feed on leaves, limbs and tops of young trees. 
The molars, which diverge in front from each other, also 
vary in their position, from those of the elephant, and 
much more nearly resemble those of the hog and hippo- 
potamus. 

To these animals, it would seem, he is still farther 
allied, in his fondness for swamps and marshy places, 
where his bones are, for the most part, found, under cir- 
cumstances which lead to the irresistible conclusion that 
he lived and perished in those places. 

It was at first supposed that the mastodon was exclu- 
sively a northern animal, and, like the fossil elephant of 
Siberia, furnished with hair adapted for its residence in a 
cold region. Other species, howevei", were soon discov- 
ered in South America, and, subsequently, in the Burman 
empire. 

The genus mastodon, then, embraces species found in 
almost every part of the world, and in all latitudes. In 
the United States, but a single species has been found ; 
and its remains, thus far, have been found along the At- 
lantic coast, from New York to the gulf of Mexico. 

The geological period at which this huge animal ex- 
isted, has occasioned much attention. It must have been 
among the most recently extinct of all quadrupeds, unless 
we except some species whose generic types still exist on 
this continent. It has certainly been discovered in posi- 
tions indicating that the animal perished, and left its bones, 
on or near the surface where they are now found. 

Cuvier states that the mastodons discovered near the 
Great Osage river, were, almost all, found in a vertical 
position, as if the animals had merely sunk in the mud. 
Since that time, many others have been found in swamps, 
a short distance beneath the surface, in an erect position ; 
conveying the perfect impression that the animal, — prob- 



618 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK— LESSON CCLXXVII. 

ably in search of his food, — had wandered into a swamp, 
and, unable to extricate himself, had died on the spot. 

" Such an incident, doubtless, occurred to the animal 
whose bones," says Dr. De Kay, " we assisted to dis- 
inter, some years ago, at Longbranch, New Jersey. He 
was in a natural vertical position ; his body supported by 
the turf soil or black earth, and his feet resting upon a 
gravelled bottom. 

" The occurrence of the bones of other animals, not yet 
extinct, in company with those of the mastodon, is not a 
conclusive evidence of their contemporaneous existence ; 
but we cannot deny that it furnishes strung reasons for 
believing them to have been of a very recent date. We 
think it highly probable, that the mastodon was alive, in 
this country, at a period when its surface was not materi- 
ally different from its actual state, and that he may have 
existed contemporaneously with man." 

Reading Lesson CCLXXVII. 



Introductory remarks. — The vast variety of surface and 
of climate, which the state of New York affords, renders 
it a wide and interesting range for the ornithologist. Its 
northern borders are frequented by the birds of the colder 
regions of the British provinces ; and its southern districts 
furnish abundant specimens of the feathered tenants of the 
more genial clime which comprises the southern poition 
of the middle states, and the northern parts of those which 
lie more to the south. 

Our selections, in the following lessons, are principally 
from Dr. De Kay, whose researches in this depart- 
ment of zoology, presented in the State Reports on the 
Natural History of New York, and in other works, have 
done so much to verify information, and extend the field 
of knowledge, in this department of science. The design 
of the present volume restricts us, as hitherto, to descrip- 
tions possessing general interest, and adapted to the pur- 
poses of a reading-book, in which the object in view is 
not systematic exposition or scientific detail, but the 
poetic interest of natural beauty in objects, whether rare 
or familiar, which lie within the scope of observation in 
our own state. 



NATURAL HISTORY.— BIRDS. 



G19 



We shall feel happy to contribute, in any degree, to 
the diffusion, among our youth, of a taste for the beautiful 
branch of natural history to which the following para- 
graphs relate. We hope that the day is not distant, 
when even our primary schools shall be amply furnished 
with cabinets of local specimens, in every department of 
natural history, furnished by the zeal and diligence of 
pupils themselves. Next in value to actual objects, are 
drawings and descriptions of them; and the last of these 
aids, although inferior in interest and attraction, may occa- 
sionally serve t:> produce a desire for observing and study- 
ing the first, while they furnish the mind with an abundant 
source of innocent pleasure and useful knowledge. 

This noble biid is found in every part of the United 

States. It feeds up- 
on fish, wild fowl, 
and small quadru- 
peds. Along the 
coast, it is frequent- 
ly seen pursuing the 
fish hawk, and, com- 
pelling him to drop 
his prey, seizes it 
before it touches the 
water. It builds its 
nest in ti'ees, and 
lays two or three 
dull- white, unspot- 
ted eggs. Birds of 
prey are seldom gre- 
garious ; yet I have 
known the bald ea- 
gle to appear in 
flocks of from fifteen 
to twenty, on the 
marshes near the 
Beacoast of Long 
Island, after a vio- 

The Brown or Bald Eaole. i ^ ^i . , 

lent northeast Storm. 
The inhabitants, on such occasions, approach them on 
horseback, and, after killing many outright, dispatch the 
remaining wounded ones, with clubs. 




620 



m:\v-yoiik class-book.— lesson cclxxvii. 



The nest of the balJ eagle has been found in the neigh- 
borhood of New York. This bird is accidental, in the 
northern parts of Europe. In this country, it ranges 
from Mexico to the 62d parallel of latitude. 

This bird is comparatively rare ; a single pair appearing 

to monopolize a large 
district. It usually se- 
lects inaccessible rocky 
peaks for its abode, 
where it builds its nest. 
The eggs are usually 
two, brownish -white, 
with scattering brownish 
streaks, and about thirty- 
five inches in length. The 
food of the golden eagle, 
consists of living quad- 
rupeds, birds, etc. ; as 
it rarely touches dead 
bodies. Birds of this 
species are frequently 
observed near the Highlands, on the North river, and 
are sometimes seen on lake Erie. The golden eagle is 
common to Europe and America. 




ec^^-^ 



The Golden Eagle. 




The American Ospray. 



The American ospray, or fish-hawk, occurs in every 



NATURAL HISTORY.— BIRDS. 621 

part of the state, in the vicinity of fresli or salt water. 
It constructs a large nest of sticks and seaweed, in which 
it deposits from three to four dull-white eggs, thickly 
spotted with brown. It feeds, exclusively, on fish, and 
other aquatic animals : it is therefore harmless, and 
should claim the protection of the farmer; but it so 
closely resembles its congeners, that it usually shares 
their fate. Until recently, it has been confounded with 
the ospray of Europe. 

Ukading Lesson CCLXXVIII. 

The wMppoorivill, called " quock-korr-ee," by our 
Dutch progenitors, ap'pears, in this state, by the latter 
end of April, or later, according to the season. It is 
found, occasionally, as high as the 48th degree of north 
latitude ; but its southern limits have not been ascer- 
tained. Audubon asserts that it is never heard, and 
scarcely ever seen, in Louisiana. It breeds in this state, 
placing its nest on or near the ground, and laying two or 
three bluish-white eggs, with numerous dark-olive and 
bluish blotches. Every one is familiar with the plaintive 
notes of the bird, which, in the language of one of our 
poets, 

" Mourns unseen, and ceaseless sings 
Ever a note of wail and wo." 

They are strictly nocturnal in their habits, and feed 
exclusively on winged insects. 

The Nig7tt-Hawk, in spite of its popular name, is 
scarcely nocturnal. It is seen, in the afternoon, high in 
air : towards evening, and in the twilight, it skims over 
the ground, and is actively engaged in the search of 
winged insects. It appears, in our state, at the same 
time with the whippoorwill, or sometimes earlier. Its 
first appearance is known by a booming sound, heard high 
in air, while the bird itself is unseen. 

" When a boy at school, I remember," says Dr. De Kay, 
" to have heard this mysterious sound along the Connecti- 
cut river, and was. told that it was the 'shad spirit,' an- 
nouncing to the scholes of shad, about to ascend the 
river, their impending fate. This may probably have been 
derived from the traditionary myths of the Indians." 



622 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXXVIII. 

This species is often confounded with the whippoor- 
will, by persons not conversant with natural history ; but 
a slight attention to their generic differences, will estab- 
lish their distinctive characters. 

From the shortness of the legs and feet of the night- 
hawk, it is always observed, when perched, to be sitting 
lengthwise of the branch. The night-hawk has a wide 
range, — from Mexico to the arctic islands, where, as the 
sun never sets during its stay, it cannot be considered as 
a nocturnal species. 

Tlie Chimney Swallow appears in New York, about 
the latter end of April, from the tropical regions; Its 
name is derived, as every one knows, from its selecting a 
chimney in which it builds its nest. In the unsettled 
districts, it builds in hollow trees and caverns. Audubon 
relates that he counted nine thousand of these swallows 
roosting in the hollow trunk of a plane-tree. This oc- 
curred in Kentucky. 

In this state, these birds build, exclusively, in chim- 
neys ; forming their nests of dead twigs, which they break 
off with their feet, and agglutinate together. The eggs 
are four in number, white, unspotted ; and two broods 
are frequently raised in a season. The chimney swal- 
low feeds on insects, which it captures on the wing. It 
ranges as far north as the oOth parallel, and westward to 
the Pacific ocean, but is peculiar to America. 

The Purple Marten. — This is the largest American 
species of the family. They reach this state, from the south, 
about the middle of April. They are bold and active ; 
attacking and pursuing all the lai'ger birds who venture 
to approach their nests. They are, consequently, gen- 
eral favorites ; and boxes are usually prepared for them 
against dwelling-houses, of which they take possession, 
driving off any previous occupant. 

The marten commences building its nest almost imme- 
diately after its arrival, laying from four to six pure white 
eggs, and often raising two broods in a season. It feeds 
upon various winged insects, such as wasps, bees, and 
large beetles. 

This bird leaves us, on its southern migration, about 
the middle of August. Its geographical range is very 
great. It has been observed as far south as Pernambuco, 



NATURAL niSTORY.-BIRDS. 623 

in 9° soulli latitude, and also at Bahia, in about 12° south. 
To the north, it peneti'ates the arctic circle. It is peculiar 
to America. 

The Wkite-Bellied Swallow. — Birds of this species are 
very numerous in the low marshes on the southern shores 
of Long Island, They are slaughtered by thousands, and 
sent to market, and are as much esteemed by gourmands 
as some small species of snipe. 

This bird feeds partly on insects and partly on berries, 
particularly the fruit of the wax-berry, on which it be- 
comes exceedingly fat. It builds in hollow trees, and 
also occupies boxes in the neighborhood of dwellings. Its 
eggs number from four to six, pure white. 

This species ranges from the gulf of Mexico to the 60th 
parallel of north latitude. A iew, according to Audubon, 
winter in the neighborhood of New Orleans. These birds 
appear, in this state, about the middle of April, and leave 
us, on their southern migration, in the early part of Sep- 
tember. They are peculiar to America. 

The Bank Sicallow. — This is one of our earliest swal- 
lows, arriving from the south, in the vicinity of New 
York. These birds dig horizontal holes in high sandy 
bluffs, at the extremity of which they form their nest of 
grass and feathers, and lay about five white eggs. They 
live on insects, which they take on the wing. Their ge- 
ographical range is very great. Theij southern limits are 
not yet established ; but they occur in Louisiana, and 
have been observed at the mouth of Mackenzie's river, in 
the 68th degree of north latitude. This species is com- 
mon to Europe and America, and is found, indeed, in 
almost every quarter of the globe. 

The Barn Swallow is one of our most common visitors. 
It makes its nest of pellets of mud, mixed with grass, and 
attached to the rafters or eaves of outhouses. It deposits 
from four to six white eggs, sparsely spotted with reddish 
brown. It destroys numerous noxious winged insects. 

This bird has been observed in Mexico. It usually 
appears in Louisiana, about the latter end of February, 
and, in this state, about the latter end of March or begin- 
ning of April. It leaves this state about the end of August. 
It has been observed as far north as 67° 50'. It is pe- 
culiar to America, but is confounded, by many, with the 
European swallow. 



624 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCLXXIX. 

The Cliff Swalloiv. — The history of this species is cu- 
rious. It was first observed at St. Domingo and Porto 
Rico, in large flocks, in the middle of May, Nothing 
farther was known about it, until Say observed it, in 
1820, in great numbers, in the Rocky mountains. In the 
interim, a solitary pair appeared near Whitehall, at the 
south end of lake Champlain; and, every succeeding year, 
birds of this species appeared in greater numbers, and 
extended farther west and south, through this state. 

De Witt Clinton, in 1824, sent a description of this 
bird to the lyceum of natural history of New York. In 
1820, it was observed by captain Franklin, in latitude 65° 
north. It has appeared on the coast of this state, within 
the last two years ; and its nest has been observed in 
Rockland county. 

Reading Lesson CCLXXIX. 

This bird appears in flocks, and lives chiefly upon 
whortleberries, cedar-berries, persim- 
mons, grapes, and cherries. Cedar- 
birds are best known by their fondness 
for cherries, which they devour with 
great avidity, and in large quantities. 
They are not, however, exclusively fru- 
givorous, but repay the comparatively 
unimportant injuries which they inflict 
on man, by ridding trees of the small 
The Cedar-bird. beetles, caterpillars, and cankerworms, 

with which they are infested. The eggs of this bird are 

usually four in number, white, tinged with purple, and 

spotted with black. 

The cedar-bird is capable of braving a low temperature, 

and is frequently seen with us, during the whole winter. 

It ranges from the equator to the 50th degree of north 

latitude. 

The Red- TJiroated Humming-hird. — This is the small- 
est species of bird occurring in this state ; and, in parti- 
cularly warm seasons, it is found here, in great numbers. 
It reaches the southern parts of the state, about the com- 
mencement of May, and almost immediately begins to 
construct its nest, which is usually placed on the upper 




NATURAL HISTORY.— BIRDS. 625 

side of a limb, and coated with moss or lichens, in order 
to make it resemble the tree to which it is attached. It 
lays two white, unspotted eggs. 

This bird feeds on the sweet juices of flowers, and, ac- 
cording to the observations of Wilson, undoubtedly de- 
stroys small insects. It is active and fearless, entering 
outhouses and dwellings. " In one instance," says Dr. De 
Kay, " a humming-bird flew into my hall, and was cap- 
tured. It appeared as if dead ; and, while the children 
were busily engaged in examining it, it suddenly darted 
away, apparently uninjured." 

The humming-bird ranges from Mexico to 57*^ north, 
where it even breeds. It leaves us, for the south, about 
the beginning of October, and sometimes even earlier. In 
common with the whole family, it is peculiar to America. 

The " chickadee, ^^ or black-cap titmouse, is a truly 
northern species : so abundant, in- 
deed, are these birds in the fur coun- 
tries, that a family of them may be 
found in almost every thicket. They 
are equally numerous in our state, — 
particularly in the northern counties, 
— throughout the year. In the south- 
em district, this bird is rather rare. 

Dr. De Kay speaks of having seen it 
The Chickadee. • t,- •••..• ..i, j ..i, r • .. 

in his vicinity, in the depth or winter, 

when the whole country was buried under a deep snow. 
It feeds on seeds and nuts, and also on spiders, canker- 
worms, and other injurious insects. The chickadee has 
been observed as far north as the 65th parallel, and, ac- 
cording to Audubon, has been seen as far south as Mary- 
land. It has also been observed in Kentucky. It builds 
its nest, usually, in the hole of a squirrel or woodpecker, 
laying from six to eight pure white eggs, and often rais- 
ing two broods in a year. Some writers describe the 
eggs as minutely sprinkled with red. 

The Bluebird, or, Blue Robin, as it is often called, in 
the western counties, resembles very much, in its man- 
ners and habits, the robin redbreast of Europe, and is 
hailed, with us, as the first harbinger of spring. A few 
individuals contrive, by seeking out some warm sunny 
Dd 




626 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCLXXIX. 

spot, to linger out the winter with us ; but this is a rare 
occurrence. 

This bird appears, in the suuthern counties, about the 
middle of March, and, sometimes, even earlier. In the 
autumn, usually in November, it leaves us for the south, 
as far as Mexico. Along the Atlantic, it ranges to Nova 
Scotia. The blue-bird is very prolific ; laying from four 
to six blue, unspotted eggs, and raising several broods in 
the year. It is very useful in destroying multitudes of 
noxious insects. In autumn, it feeds on cedar-berries, 
wild cherries, etc. 

The Moching-Bird, the peculiar ornament of the forests 
of the southern and some of the middle states, is com- 
paratively rare in New York ; although some are occa- 
sionally found even in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. 
The unrivalled powers of song, attributed to this bird, are 
too well known to be repeated hei'e. It is found 25 de- 
grees south of the equator, and ranges to 44° of north 
latitude. It lays from four to six pale-green eggs, spotted, 
and blotched with brown. It has been observed, with us, 
towards the end of May. Its food is various, consisting of 
berries of the holly, sumach, etc., and of insects, worms, 
and spiders. This bird is peculiar to the torrid and tem- 
perate zones of the two Americas. 

The BrotDU Thrush. — This delightful songster has vari- 
ous popular names in different districts. He is called the 
" French mocking-bird," " ground-thrasher," " ground 
mocking-bird," and, " brown thrasher." Although a few 
have been known to remain during a mild winter, in the 
state, yet it usually winters farther south. It ranges 
throughout North America, from 30° to 54° north. It 
usually arrives here, from the south, towards the end of . 
April, and breeds in every part of the state. Its nest is 
built on or near the ground : the eggs are from four to 
six, greenish-white, with numerous dots of brown. It 
feeds on worms, insects, and various kinds of berries, and 
is readily domesticated. 

T7ie Cat-Bird. — This familiar bird ranges from Mexico 
to the 54th degree of north latitude. It arrives in this state 
at the beginning or middle of April, according to the tem- 



NATURAL HISTORY.— BIRDS. 627 

perature of the season. It lays from four to five unspotted 
greenish eggs. Its food consists of berries, worms, wasps, 
and other insects. This is one of our most useful birds, 
but usually doomed to persecution and death, by thought- 
less ignorance. Its notes are eminently beautiful ; although 
few suppose it capable of emitting any other sound than 
the harsh and discordant onew which has given rise to its 
trivial name. 

The American Rohin. — This familiar species is a resi- 
dent in this state, throughout the year ; and those which 
thus remain, probably advance farther north, to breed. 
The eggs are from four to six : bluish-green, unspotted. 
Birds of this species feed on worms, insects, berries, and 
fruits, and range from the equator to the 67th degree of 
north latitude. The popular name of robin was given to 
this bird, by the early English colonists, from its supposed 
resemblance to the robin redbreast of Europe, which, 
however, is a much smaller bird, and is remarkable for 
its melodious song, which it keeps up through the winter 
season, — the period when it delights to frequent the 
abodes of man, even in the suburbs of the largest cities. 

The Wood- Thrush. — This little thrush reaches this 
state, (where it domesticates itself for the season,) about 
the beginning of May. It has various popular names, 
such as "wood-robin," " ground- robin," and " little brown 
thrasher." Its food consists of various berries, caterpillars, 
etc. It is well known for its distinct, rich, and varied 
song. 

Some of our readers may remember the beautiful and 
eloquent apostrophe with which our venerable ornitholo- 
gist, Andubon, opens his truly poetic description of this 
delightful bird. He speaks of it as having often cheered 
him with its hope-inspiring notes, when rising from his 
wet couch and quenched fire, after a rain-storm, amid the 
solitudes of our central forests, during those remote ex- 
cursions which his enthusiasm for the study of living nature 
so often induced him to undertake. 

The thrilling notes of this bird, when reechoed from the 
opposite sides of a deep ravine, or from the vast columnar 
stems of the " tulip-tree," are the true forest-hymn of 
America. The melody of the wood-thrush is peculiarly 



628 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXXX. 

deep, sweet, pathetic, and solemn, when heard under the 
circumstances just mentioned. 

The wood-thrush is shy and retired in its habits ; and 
its eggs, except in size, do not differ from those of the 
robin. It ranges from Mexico to the 50th degree of north 
latitude, and is found, during the whole winter, in Louis- 
iana. 

Reading Lesson CCLXXX. 

The Summer Yellow-Bird. — This is a very common 
species in our state, and is called " summer yellow-bird," 
to contradistinguish it from the common yellow-bird, 
which is seen here, at all seasons of the year. The 
summer yellow-bird breeds in every part of the state ; 
laying four or five light, bluish-white eggs, dotted with 
brown, at the larger end ; and rearing two broods in the 
season. 

This species is remarkable for its instinctive sagacity in 
getting rid of the eggs of the " cow black-bird." As the 
egg is too large to be thrust out, the summer yellow-bird 
commences a new nest above it ; thus almost hermeti- 
cally closing it up, and then proceeds to deposit her own 
eggs. — In one instance, this reconstruction was twice 
effected ; thus forming a nest of three stories. 

This species appears in Louisiana from Mexico, about 
the beginning of March ; and, by the end of that month, 
has spread over all the Atlantic states, and penetrates as 
high as the 68th parallel. 

TJie King-Bird, as it is called in this state, or " field 
marten," — as it is termed elsewhere, — is a well-known 
and common species. It winters in Mexico, enters 
Louisiana about the middle of March, and appears here, 
in the latter part of April or the beginning of May. It 
continues its northward course as far as the 57th parallel 
of latitude. It spreads over the continent, to Columbia 
river. 

It leaves us, for its winter quarters, in September or 
October, according to the season, and builds in all parts of 
the state ; laying from four to six yellowish-white eggs, 
with a few spots of deep brown. It feeds on berries and 
seeds, beetles, canker-worms, and insects of every de- 
scription. By this habit, and by its inveterate hostility to 



NATURAL HISTORY.— BIRDS. 629 

rapacious birds, it more than compensates for the few 
domestic bees with which it varies its repasts. 

The Northern Butcher-Bird. — This bold and ferocious 
little bird is found, at all seasons of the year, in this state, 
where it builds, laying from four to six pale, ashy-white 
eggs, thickly marked, at the larger end, with reddish 
spots and streaks. 

From its attempts to imitate the notes of other birds, it 
is sometimes called " mocking-bird," in Canada and the 
eastern states. The name of " nine-killer" is derived 
from the popular belief that it catches and impales nine 
grasshoppers in a day. It is exceedingly destructive; 
waging war upon all birds, and destroying even large 
ones, with great ease. It builds from Pennsylvania north- 
ward, but is found, in the winter, still farther south. It is 
found as far north as the 60th parallel of latitude. 

The Blue Jay. — This familiar and elegant bird is com- 
mon throughout the United States. It lays four or five 
dull-olive eggs, spotted with brown. It is exceedingly 
mischievous ; but as it rarely appears, except in small 
numbers, its injuries are of little moment. It feeds on 
chestnuts, acorns, corn, cherries, large insects, caterpillars, 
and, in times of scarcity, has been known to feed on car- 
rion. It is also fond of the eggs of the smaller birds, and 
will not hesitate to devour the callow young. It is found 
from Texas to the 56th parallel of north latitude. In this 
state, it is observed throughout the year. 

The " Golden, Oriole," "hang-bird," "fire hang-bird," 
or " golden robin," — for it is 
known under all these names, 
— is found, in the summer sea- 
son, throughout the state. Its 
nest is well known, from its be- 
ing suspended from trees, by 
two or more strings. Its eggs 
are bluish-white, with pale- 
brown spots and lines. Its 
food consists chiefly of flies, 
The Golpen Oriole. beetles, and caterpillars ; and 

its services, in destioying these insects, are invaluable. It 




630 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXXX. 

ranges over the whole Union, from Mexico to 55'^ north 
latitude. It is easily domesticated, and imitates the notes 
of other birds. 

Tke Orchard Oriole is more common than the preceding 
species, in the the southern district of this state, where it 
is seen from May to September, when it migrates south- 
wardly. Its nest does not hang free and pendulous, 
like that of the golden oriole, but is firmly attached, all 
around its margin ; in other respects, it is interwoven in 
the same manner : the eggs are bluish- white, sprinkled 
with brown. 

An eminent writer, speaking of animal instinct, has said 
that the bird of the nineteenth century builds its nest after 
precisely the same fashion as the first of the species, at 
the dawn of the creation. This remark will not hold true 
always of the orchard oriole, or "hang-bird," as it is com- 
monly called. This bird, if it can find twine or pack- 
thread, judiciously substitutes it for twigs or fibres, with 
which to form the orifice of its nest, and fasten its domicile 
to the branches and twigs of the tree in which it builds. — 
An academy boy, in a New-England village, once amused 
his teacher by bringing to him an oriole's nest, in which 
the twine, used as mentioned, had some bits of sealing- 
w^ax still attached to it, and even some scraps of wrapping 
paper, with the words of the author's customary death- 
warrant, " more copy wanted," plainly legible upon them. 
The wonder was sufficiently explained by the fact that 
the elm-tree, from which the nest had been obtained, 
grew not far from a printing-office attached to a distin- 
guished professional seminary. 

Another instance may here be mentioned, still more un- 
friendly to the limitation of animal sagacity. An orchard 
oriole had chosen, as the site of its nest, a tree growing 
on the side of one of the beautiful secluded lanes, so fre- 
quent in New England, formed by an old road, abandoned 
by carriages, but still used by foot-travellers, — especially 
children going to school. It would seem that, on a warm 
day, when one of the little pupils had felt her stockings to 
be more trouble than comfort to her, she had taken them 
off, and inadvertently dropped one. The oriole, as if it 
had imbibed the local feeling of economy, along with the 
air it had come to breathe, and had resolved that a useful 
article should not be thrown away, picked up the dropped 



NATURAL HISTORY.-BIRDS. 631 

Stocking ; and, using the garter, which some good, careful 
mother had prudently sewed to it, to prevent the loss of 
it, the thrifty bird actually made the two ends of it serve 
as suspenders, by which to hang the stocking from two 
opposite twigs. With the usual appliances of fibres and 
thread, the mouth of the little sock was duly converted 
into the proper entrance, while the foot of it formed a 
convenient pocket, for the deposit of the eggs, on a few 
such materials as the bird commonly uses. The nest was 
found by a father and his son, on an autumn walk, when 
the leaves were partly fallen, and this singular specimen 
of ornithological architecture was disclosed dangling from 
the boughs of a dwarf elm. 

This bird ranges from the equator to 49° north lati- 
tude. Mr. Audubon states that he had seen it in the 
state of Maine ; but it has not yet been noticed in the 
adjoining state of Massachusetts. 

The oi'iole feeds on crickets, grasshoppers, spiders, 
larvae of insects, and occasionally, on juicy fruits and ber- 
ries. The notes of this bird are peculiarly melodious : 
the natural quality of the tone is mellow, soft, and sweet, 
to a remarkable degree. 

The BohlinJc, or Boh-o^linJc, — as it is called, in this state, — 
is known, in others, by the various names of " reed-bird," 
" May-bird," "meadow-bird," "American ortolan," "but- 
ter-bird," and " skunk blackbird." In the southern states, 
where it is highly prized by epicures, it is usually known 
under the name of " rice-bird." 

It arrives in this state, about the first week in May, and 
returns to the south, about the middle or latter part of 
October. The northern migration of these birds, appears 
to be chiefly by night ; but, on their return southwardly, 
they fly by day. 

Their eggs are of a faint bluish-white, irregularly spot- 
ted with black, and placed in a nest on the ground. Their 
Ibod consists of crickets, grasshoppers, beetles, spiders, 
and seeds of various kinds, particularly of the grasses. 

They have been observed on the Rocky Mountains; 
and their geographical range on the Atlantic side of the 
continent, extends from Mexico to the 54th parallel of 
north latitude. 



638 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.-LESSON CCLXXXI. 

Reading Lesson CCLXXXI. 




The Wild Turkey. 

This is a species peculiar to North America. It was 
sent to Europe, about twenty years after the discovery of 
this country. Here the domesticated and the wild are 
frequently mingled together, and produce a highly prized 
variety, scarcely inferior to the wild turkey, in the metallic 
brilliancy of its tints. 

In its wild state, the turkey feeds on beech-nuts, acorns, 
berries, and grass, and likewise on beetles and tadpoles. 
It lays from ten to twelve eggs. 

The wild turkey may be said to be a resident from 
Mexico to Canada; making irregular migrations from one 
place to another, in search of food. It has, however, al- 
most entirely disappeared from the Atlantic states. A 
few are yet found about Mount Holyoke, in Massachu- 
setts, and in Sussex county, in New Jersey. " I have 
not met with them," says Dr. De Kay, " in this state. 



NATURAL HISTORY.-BIRDS. 633 

where they were once exceedingly numerous, but, as I 
am well informed, are now only found in the counties of 
Sullivan, Rockland, Orange, Allegany, and Cattaraugus." 
Van der Donck, who describes this state as it appeared at 
its first settlement by Europeans, speaks thus : " The most 
important fowl of the country is the wild turkey. They 
resemble the tame turkey of the Netherlands. These 
birds are common in the woods all over the country, and 
are found in large flocks, from twenty to forty in a flock. 
They are large, heavy, fat, and fine, weighing from twen- 
ty to thirty pounds each ; and I have heard of one that 
weighed thirty-two pounds. They are best in the fall of 
the year, when the Indians will sell a turkey for ten stiv- 
ers ; and, with the christians, the price is a daelder each. 
They are caught with dogs, in the snow ; but the greatest 
number are shot, at night, from the trees. The Indians 
take many in snares, when the weather changes, in win- 
ter. Then they lay bulbous roots, which the turkeys are 
fond of, in the small rills and streams of water, which the 
birds take up ; when they are ensnared and held, until 
the artful Indian takes the turkey as his prize." 

The Snow-bird occurs in this state, at all seasons of the 
year. It is a shy, timorous bird, and hence is rarely seen, 
except during snow-storms, when it appears in flocks, 
close to dwellings. It is a northern species. It breeds 
among the mountains in Oswego county, and doubtless, 
in other parts of the state. It makes its nest on the 
ground, and lays about four spherical yellowish-white 
eggs, sprinkled with reddish-brown dots. It builds as 
far south as Virginia. It feeds on grass-seeds, berries, 
insects, and their larvas. 

The snow-bird migrates in the night, from the north, 
and descends as low as the 30th parallel of latitude. It 
has been noticed as high as 57° north latitude, where, 
however, it appears to be only a summer resident. It 
is common to America and the northern parts of Eu- 
rope. 

The Red-bird, or Summer Red-bird, comes to us from 
the south, but not in great numbers, and only during the 
hottest part of the summer : it rarely passes east of this 
state. It is not known to breed here. The eggs are of 



634 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CCLXXXL 

a light-blue color. The red-bird feeds on insects, and, 
more especially, the larger beetles. It properly belongs 
to Mexico, and even farther south ; and scarcely remains 
within the limits of the United States, (where it breeds,) 
more than four months. 

The Crested WoodpecJcer. — This is the largest wood- 
pecker found in our state, and is particularly abundant 
in the uncleared forests, where he is known under the 
names of " log-cock," and " wood-cock." This bird is 
almost unknown in the Atlantic district of the state. It 
feeds on the larvae of insects, which it obtains from be- 
neath the bark of trees, and on Indian corn, chesnuts, 
acorns, and fruits. It forms its nests in excavations in 
decaying trees : its eggs are five or six in number, and 
white in color. It occurs from Texas to the 63d parallel, 
and appears to be resident in every part of the United 
States, during the whole year. 

T/te. Red-headed Woodpecker, — or as he is sometimes 
called, the "red-head," — arrives in this state from the 
south, in the early part of May, and, after breeding, 
leaves us again, in September : occasionally, a few re- 
main during the winter. 

This bird feeds on juicy fruits, as cherries, apples, pears, 
etc. ; on Indian corn, in the milk, and on the insects which 
infest decaying trees. Its eggs are white, with reddish 
spots at the larger end. It occurs at Columbia river, and 
ranges from Mexico to the 50th parallel of north latitude; 
but it is less common, now, in the Atlantic district of this 
state, than formerly. 

The Wild Pigeon, — as it is universally called, in this 
country, — builds in this state, where it is found at all sea- 
sons of the year. In certain years, wild pigeons make 
their appearance, in almost incredible numbers, literally 
darkening the air, and breaking down trees with their 
weight. Their appearance and disappearance are at very 
irregular and uncertain intervals, and although, in a great 
measure, connected with a search for food, do not always 
seem to depend upon that cause. Thus, in February, 
1742, when the Hudson was frozen solid at New York, 
and the snow a foot deep, flocks of these birds appeared 
in greater numbers that were ever before known. Large 



NATURAL Hi STORY.— BIRDS. 



635 



flocks were also observed about Albany, and in the north- 
ern parts of the state, during the winter of 1819. 

Mr. Clark, of Albany, succeeded in raising the wild pig- 
eon in confinement; and, from his successful experiments, 
we learn that it lays two eggs, which are hatched in fif- 
teen days. In eight days after being hatched, the young 
are completely feathered, and fly from the nests. There 
are three or four broods hatched between May and Sep- 
tember. — The same success has attended the experiments 
of lord Stanley, in England, upon a number sent out to 
him, from this country. 

It is very desirable to domesticate this very prolific 
species ; although its extremely erratic disposition will 
probably render this difiicult. Its food consists of beech- 
nuts, acorns, berries, rice, seeds, etc. It ranges through- 
out North America, from 25° to 62° north latitude. 

Reading Lesson CCLXXXII. 

The common American " Quail" or " partridge," — as 
it is indifferently called in vari- 
ous sections of the country, — 
occurs in every part of the state, 
where it is a constant resident. 
The flight of the quail is rapid, 
but short ; and birds of this spe- 
cies usually occur in large bev- 
ies. Their nest is built on the 
ground, and contains from eight 
to eighteen pure-white eggs : 
they raise a single brood in a 
season. Their food consists of 
grains, seeds, and berries. 
Various attempts have been made to domesticate 
quails ; but, hitherto, with but limited success, owing to 
their restless and timorous habits. 

In spring, the male has a loud whistle, of two or three 
notes, which is thought, by the country people, to resem- 
ble the words, " buck wheat," and " Bob White." 

The quail is eagerly sought after, as a game bird, and 
is caught, in great numbers, by traps, horsehair nooses, 
nets, and other devices. When flushed, they frequently 
take to trees; but they commonly roost on the ground, in 
a circle, with their heads outwards. 




The American Quail. 



636 



NEVV-yORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXXXII. 



The common quail ranges from Honduras to JNIassa- 
chusetts. 

The Common ''Partridge,'' or Rvffed Grouse. — The 
"pheasant," or "partridge," — by which latter name it is 
generally known in this state, — is a constant resident 
with us, in every part of the state. It makes an exceed- 
ingly inartificial nest of dried leaves, usually by the side 
of a decayed log, or the root of a tree, in which it lays 
from six to twelve eggs, of a dull brownish color. Its flight 
is rapid, but short, and, when suddenly aroused, with a 
loud whirring noise, such as we have observed in the quail. 
It feeds on seeds and berries of various kinds, grapes, and 
other fruits. The meat of the partridge is occasionally 
poisonous, which has been attributed to their feeding on 
the leaves of the kalmia. In winter, they feed on the 
leaves of various trees. The American partridge has a 
a wide geographical range, along the coast, from Mexico 
to the 56th parallel of latitude, and extends across the 
continent to the Pacific ocean. 



This cnecies is known under the various names 

of " grouse," " pinnated 
grouse," " heath-hen" and 
" prairie-hen," in different 
sections of the country. In 
this state, these birds are 
now almost entirely extir- 
pated. They are still found 
in a few districts of the At- 
lantic states, in a few of the 
islands on the coast of Mas- 
- sachusetts, and the moun- 
' tainous regions of Pennsyl- 
vania. They are also said 
to have been seen, recently, 
at Schooley's mountain, in New Jersey, and a few are 
still said to Hnger about Orange county, in this state. 
They are so readily killed, that they soon disappear as 
the country becomes settled. 

The female builds 'her nest on the ground, depositing 
from eight to twelve eggs, of a dull-brown color. The 
grouse is easily tamed, and, with a little care, might soon 
be domesticated. It feeds on buds and berries. Its geo- 




The Pinnated GRorsE. 



NATURAL HISTORY.— BIRDS. 637 

graphical range is from Texas to Maine; and it is cornmon 
through the regions west of the Mississippi. 

The Spruce or Spotted Grouse, or Canada Grouse, or 
"spruce partridge," — as it is called in this state, — is yet 
common in the northern counties. " In June," says Dr. 
De Kay, "I saw them in Hamilton county, among the 
sources of the Raquet. They appear to be particularly 
attached to the forests of spruce and larch ; feeding on the 
buds and cones, with great avidity." 

Although, by appearance and habits, associated with 
game birds, the flesh is bitter, and has a peculiar taste, as 
if boiled in turpentine. This bird lays from twelve to 
fourteen fawn-colored eggs, with irregular blotches of 
brown. 

In the United States, it ranges through Maine, New 
Hampshire, Vermont, and the northern part of this state. 

The Turnstone. — This bird, which is generally distrib- 
uted over Europe and America, arrives in this state, from 
the south, at the commencement of April, and proceeds 
northwardly, about the last of May. It is known among 
our " gunnera," (a class of men who earn a livelihood by 
shooting birds,) under the names of "brant-bird," " heart- 
bird," "horsefoot snipe," and "beach-bird." The young 
are often designated as " beach-birds," These birds live 
on marine animals, turning over stones and seaweed dur- 
ing their search, — whence their name of " tumstone." 
The turnstone is very fond of the eggs of the horsefoot. 
Its own eggs are pale greenish, with patches and streaks 
of red. The bird returns to our state, in September, and 
remains until late in autumn. It does not appear to go far 
inland, but is confined to the Atlantic coast. A few winter 
in the southein states. It ranges from the tropics to the 
Arctic ocean, and builds from Maine northwardly. 

The American Bittern, — also familiarly known under the 
names of "poke," "Indian hen," "Indian pullet," "look- 
up," " stake-driver," and in Louisiana, '^garde-soleil,'" — is a 
southern species, migiating northwardly, in spring, and re- 
treating to the south, in autumn. It appears along our mari- 
time borders in April, and leaves us in October. It hatches 
in this state, laying three or four pale bluish eggs. It is 
a shy and solitary bird ; preferring the depths of swamps 




Thk Sandpiper. 



638 NEW-YORK CLASS BOOK.— LESSON CCLXXXII. 

and marshes, and feeding on meadow-mice, aquatic rep- 
tiles, fishes, and the larger winged insects. Our species 
ranges between the thirty-eighth and fifty-eighth parallels. 

The Little Sandpiper, commonly known as the " peep," 
fi-om its usual note, and as the " ox-eye," 
from the size and brilliancy of its eye, 
is one of our most abundant species. It 
pervades the whole of North America, 
from Mexico to 68° north latitude ; oc- 
curring, equally, on the coast, and 
through the interior, to Columbia river. 
It builds from Labrador to the Arctic 
circle. 

Except during its short hatching sea- 
son, it is a resident on the coast of this state. In Septem- 
ber and October, it is in good order ; and, though small, is 
exceedingly savory.* Its eggs are, usually, from three to 
four in number, of a cream-yellow, blotched and dotted 
with reddish brown. Its food consists of larva3, minute 
shellfish, and insects on the salt marshes. It has been 
denominated " Wilson's sandpiper," in honor of that cele- 
brated ornithologist. 

TJie Spotted Sand Lark. — This is a familiar bird, found, 
in small families, along every stream, and the borders of 
ponds and lakes, throughout the Union. It is known, in the 
books, under the names of "spotted sandpiper," and "tat- 
tler," but is better known, among the people, by the name 
of " peet-weet," in allusion to its notes; or of "teeter" 
and "tiltup," from its often-repeated, grotesque, jerking 
motions. 

It appears, with us, in April, from its southern winter 
quarters, and disappears about the beginning of November. 
It builds in this state and farther north ; laying pale yellow- 
ish eggs, which are spotted with dark brown. Its food con- 
sists of insects and worms. It ranges from Mexico to the 
57th parallel, and has been accidentally found in Europe. 

* This beautiful and harmless little creature, like many others of 
the feathered race, would seem, by its very diminutiveness, to appeal 
to man for protection. But, unfortunately, the relish of its flesh is, too 
generally, considered a sufficient warrant lor its destraction. This 
would not be the case, if the intelligent love and study of living na- 
ture, were made, as it ought to be, a part of early education. 



NATURAL HISTORY.— BIRDS. 



639 



Reading Lesson CCLXXXIII. 

The Common American Snipe, or " English Snipe" — 
. as it is ignorantly called, from its 
resemblance to the common snipe 
of Europe, — reaches this state 
about the latter end of March.or the 
beginning of April. It builds from 
Virginia northwardly, and ranges 
between the 28th and 55th paral- 
lels. It abounds in this state, par- 
ticularly in wet swampy places. 
The " Drowned Lands," — as they 
are called, — of Orange county, are 
particularly remarkable as a locality for its nests. But it 
occurs, likewise, in every part of the state. Its eggs are 
yellowish, with spots and. blotches, which form a crowded 
circle round the larger end. 

Early in the spring, it soars high in the air, making a 
booming sound, difficult to describe. In Kentucky, and 
the southern states, it is a resident during the winter. 
In this state, it remains with us until winter, or until the 
ground is so much frozen as to deprive it of its usual 
food. Its flesh is much esteemed. 




The A.meric.^n Snipe. 



This well known and highly prized bird appears in this 
state, from the south, early in 
March, and remains with us until 
January; although many pass oh 
to higher latitudes. " My vener- 
able friend, Mr. T. Cozzens, in- 
forms me," says Dr. De Kay, "that 
as late as 1814, it was abundant in 
many places on the island of Man- 
hattan, which are now entirely 
covered with houses." 
The Americ.^.n Woodcock. It builds in every part of the 
state : its eggs are usually four in number, dull yellowish, 
irregularly blotched with reddish brown. Its food con- 
sists chiefly of earth-worms and aquatic insects. It in- 
habits swamps and miry places ; but, in wet seasons, it 
may be found on high grounds. It resembles consider- 
ably the European woodcock, but is smaller ; and 




640 NEW-YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXXXIIL 

the lower parts are plain-coloreJ, without the black 
bars. 

Woodcocks are among the very few bii-ds protected 
by law : they are not allowed to be exposed for sale 
until after the first of July. They are distributed through 
the interior, and range from 26° to 52° north latitude, 
and are winter residents of the southern states. 

The "great diver," or " big loon," may be regarded as 
a perpetual resident in this state. 
It is mostly found in the interior, 
hatching in the neighborhood of 
our many beautiful sheets of water, 
during the summer, and occurring 
on our seacoast, in winter. 

This species occurs throughout 
the Union, from Texas to Maine, 
and throughout the interior, to 
the Columbia river. It nests from 
Maryland, northwardly. Its geo- 
graphical range is from 28° to 
70° north latitude : it is common 
The Great Loon. * to Europe and America. 

The Wild Goose observes the usual migrations of its 
tribe, but hatches throughout a very extensive range of 
country. It was observed nesting in Missouri, by Mr. 
Nuttall. It builds sparingly from Mississippi to Nova 
Scotia, according to Mr. Audubon, and abundantly in 
Labrador, and between the 60th and 70th parallels of 
latitude. It appears, with us, in large flocks, late in the 
autumn, from the north, and remains until the bays are 
frozen over ; affording much amusement to the sports- 
men, and profit to the gunners who pursue it, as a busi- 
ness. The wild goose returns in the earliest spring, and 
soon migrates again to the north. The eggs of this bird 
are of a dull yellowish green. It is frequently kept in a 
state of domestication. 

The Brant is considered as one of our most savory 
birds. In its transit from its nesting places, near the 
Arctic sea, it appears, in great numbers, on the coast 
of New York, in the first or second week in October, 




NATURAL HISTORY.— BIRDS. 



641 



and continues passing on to the south, until December. 
Some ^e\v have been observed to remain all winter. 
They are again seen, with us, in April and May, on their 
way north, when they are in the best condition. The 
brant feeds, exclusively, on eelgrass, and other marine 
plants. The history of its migrations is not yet com- 
plete. On the Atlantic coast, it has been observed, from 
73*^ to 38° north. On the Pacific, it appears to range 
from Columbia river, to the 26th parallel. The brant is 
capable of domestication, and is found on both conti- 
nents. 




The American Swan. 

This species was first shown to be distinct from those 
of Europe, by Dr. Sharpless. It breeds in high northern 
latitudes, and enters the United States, through the in- 
terior ; a few only appearing along the coast. 

In the uninhabited regions of Hamilton and Herkimer 
counties, in this state, this species, " as I was informed," 



642 NEW- YORK CLASS-BOOK.— LESSON CCLXXXIU. 

says Dr. De Kay, "by trustworthy hunters, remains 
during the whole year." 

The outlet of lake Paskungameh, or Tapper's lake, 
■was specified as a spot to which it was particularly 
attached. The eggs are from five to seven in number, 
and of a greenish color. It is very common on the 
Chesapeake bay, during the winter, — abundant, also, on 
the Pacific coast of America. 



APPENDIX. 



STATE INSTITUTIONS, CONNECTED WITH 
EDUCATION. 

Introductory Observations. 

The character of the information contained in the subsequent 
portion of this volume, is not such as to admit of its being thrown 
into the form of reading lessons. Yet its importance, as regards 
the history of the state, seemed to require a place in our pages. 

A few brief notices, however, of prominent institutions, con- 
nected with the diffusion of education, are all that the design 
of this work will admit. Had our limits permitted, we would 
gladly have dwelt on the character and plan of the various phi- 
lanthropic and benevolent institutions of our state. Teachers, 
— we would respectfully suggest, — may, individually, do much 
to create, in the minds of their pupils, an intelligent interest in 
such institutions, by preparing, and reading to their classes, ap- 
propriate abstracts of the progress of these establishments, as 
presented in their respective annual reports. 

Colleges. 

Columhia {originally King''s) College. — The early history of 
this institution, forms, it will be recollected by our readers, a 
subject of not unfrequent notice in previous pages of our work. 
We need only mention, here, that, after the unavoidable inter- 
ruption caused by the war of the revolution, the college was 
reorganized, in 1787, under the superintendence of the newly 
constituted body, denominated " regents of the university,"* and 
then received its present name. 

* As early as 1784, a legislative act was passed, erecting a university within the 
state. The principal officers of the state, were made, ex officio, " regents." To 
these were added twenty-four other persons. The regents were empowered to 
establish colleges and schools which should be considered as parts of the university. 
The law here referred to, was revised in 1787; and the constitution of the unlver- 
eity remains, substantially, as then decided. 



644 APPENDIX. 

In the historical part of our work, we had occasion to advert 
to the obligations which this respected seat of learning has con- 
ferred, not only on the state of New York, but the Union, in the 
many distinguished men which it has educated. Great expecta^ 
tions are justly entertained of the benefit which the alumni of 
Columbia college have undertaken to confer on science and their 
country, by the establishment of an asti'onomical obseiTatory iu 
the vicinity of New York. 

Union college, at Schenectady, was established by the regents, 
in 1795. This institution, which has furnished so many active 
and useful members to all tlie professions, in our own state and 
others, has been distinguished for the eminently practical char- 
acter of the education which it confers. 

Hamilton college, at Clinton, was founded by the regents, in 
1812. This institution holds a respectable rank among the more 
recent of our literary establishments. 

Geneva college, incorporated in 1825, renders accessible ta 
the western portion of the state the benefits of a liberal educa- 
tion. 

The University of the city of New York, established in 1830, 
having successfully struggled through the impediments of its 
earlier years, is now in a prosperous condition, both in its medi- 
cal and academical departments. 



Academies. 

We cannot attempt, here, to enumerate the many sem- 
inaries of this description, established throughout the state. 
These institutions amounted in 1842, — the date of the State 
Reports, — to upwards of one hundred and thirty ; were fur- 
nishing the advantages of superior education to upwards of 
eleven thousand pupils, and were deriving, from the public 
hterature fund of the state, an aggregate annual aid of forty 
thousand dollars. 

By a law passed in 1841, each academy receives from the 
state an annual sura of two hundred and fifty dollars, which, 
added to an equal amount, contributed by the patrons of each 
academy, is applied to the purchase of text-books, globes, maps, 
and philosophical apparatus. 

Academies for the education of females, are quite numerous 
in the state of New York; many of which are conducted under 
the sanction and superintendence of the regents of the univer- 
sity, and derive aid, in common with our classical academies, 
from the public fund of the state. The number of pupils in in- 
stitutions of the latter class, amounted, in 1842, to no fewer than 
fifteen hundred and seventy. 

The seminary at Troy, established by Mrs. Emma Willard, 
was one of the first to furnish a model of superior education for 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 645 

females. Rutgers Institute in the city of New York, the Al- 
bany Female Academy, and the Brooklyn Female Academy, 
in the city of Brooklyn, with many others, in various parts of 
the state, may be mentioned as instances in which the educa- 
tion of the female sex is carried to an extent of substantial and 
useful acquirement, rarely attempted in other parts of the 
world, although not unprecedented in similar institutions for 
female education, in New England, and other parts of our own 
country. 



Common Schools. 

An important part of the history of education in New York, 
is that which regards the public measures adopted for securing 
the general education of youth, by means of public schools. In 
few parts of the world have the means and opportunities of 
universal education been more extensively or successfully dif- 
fused, than in this state. 

The operation of the common school system of the state, is 
thus described by governor Seward, in his Introduction to the 
State Reports. " Commissioners of common schools are annu- 
ally chosen by the people, in the several towns ; and the towns 
are divided, by the commissioners, into school districts. The 
inhabitants of each district elect trustees. In every district, a 
school-house is erected and maintained by funds derived from 
the tax levied upon the inhabitants by the trustees, in virtue of 
a resolution passed at an annual meeting of the inhabitants. 
The teachers of the schools are such individuals as are approved 
by inspectors elected by the people. In each school district, a 
contribution is levied, by taxation, to an amount equalling the 
sum annually apportioned to the district from the public funds. 
Deficiencies, if any such exist, in relation to the actual support 
of schools, are made up by tuition-fees, charged to parents who 
are of sufficient ability. From such charge the poor are ex- 
pressly exempted. The annual duration of the period for which 
the public schools must be kept open, for actual instruction, is not 
allowed to fall short of four months. The schools are visited 
and examined by the inspectors, and by a deputy superintendent 
of common schools for each county, who is appointed by the 
supervisors. The supervision and care of the whole school 
system of the state, are devolved on the secretary of state, who 
is superintendent of common schools, and, aided by a deputy gen- 
eral superintendent, receives, from the trustees of each distiict, 
an annual report of the condition and progress of their respective 
schools, and submits, annually, to the legislature, a comprehen- 
sive report of the condition of the schools, throughout the state. 
Schools are maintained, wherever necessary, for children of 
African descent. A state normal school for the education of 



646 APPENDIX. 

teachers, is maintained at Albany ;* and a periodical journal, 
devoted to education, containing the laws of the state, and tho 
regulations adopted by the superintendent, for the organization 
and management of schools, is distributed to each school in the 
state." 

The results of the operation of the state school-system, for 
the year 1845-6, are thus presented in the annual report of Mr. 
Benton, the secretary of state, and superintendent of common 
schools. 

On the 1st day of July, 1846, the aggi'egate of all the com- 
mon, and unincorporated, select and private schools, was 12,738. 
The whole number of children in the state, ou the 31st day of 
December, 1845, between- the ages of five and sixteen, was 
703,399 : the whole number of children of all ages under 
instruction, in common schools, during parts of the year 
1845, was 742,433, — in private schools, 31,240, — in the city 
of New York, 8,854, — in academies, (though not for classical 
studies,) 11,692; engaged in classical studies, 13,481: — ag- 
gregate, — under education, — 807,200. — The aggregate popula- 
tion of the state, July 1st, 1945, 2,604,495. Four persons of 
every thirteen, therefore, were receiving the benefits of educa- 
tion. 

The following items regarding our Indian population, possess 
peculiar interest. 

It appears that school-houses have been erected on the 
Onondaga and St. Regis reservations, and that schools opened 
for the instruction of Indian children, are now in successful 
operation. 

The superintendent's concluding remarks on this subject are 
as follows : — 

" The duty of taking the census of the Indians on the several 
reservations in this state, was performed by gentlemen long fa- 
miliar with the Indian character, their customs, manners, and 
habits ; and the results given are relied upon as accurate. The 
whole number of Indian children residing upon the several re- 
servations in the State, on the first day of July, 1845, given in 
the census reports, was nine hundred and eighty-four, (984) 
distributed as follows : — On the Oneida reservation, 59 ; Onon- 
daga, 169; Tuscarora, 63; Bufialo, 117; Cattaraugus, 121; 
Cayugas, on the Cattaraugus reservation, 21 ; Allegany, 227 ; 
Tonawanda, 126; St. Regis, 81. The aggregate of the whole 
Indian population upon these reservations, is 3,753 ; and the 
proportion of children, of the above ages, to the whole popula- 
tion, is nearly one to four, or twenty-five per cent, a ratio almost 
as large as that given by the census, for the white population in 
the state." 

* This institution promises an aid more effectual than any yet afforded, to tha 
advancement of popular education. 



COMMON SCHOOLS. 647 

School Libraries. 

A most efficient collateral aid to general education, and to the 
extensive diffusion of knowledge, among the people of the state, 
is the system of school-district libraries, for the support of which, 
in eveiy district, a certain appropriation is made from the funds 
of the state, in addition to the voluntary local contributions made 
for this purpose, by individuals. This invaluable provision for 
extending and completing the plan of popular education, enables 
the children of the state, generally, to secure benefits, previously 
enjoyed by such only as were furnished with such aids at home. 
It presents, to all, the advantages of a library adapted specially to 
juvenile readers, and carefully selected, with reference to the 
best influence on the young mind. The public system of gen- 
eral education, was necessarily imperfect in its results, while 
there was no inducement offered to youth to pursue the career 
of mental cultivation beyond the elements taught at school. But, 
by the system of school libraries, many of the most interesting 
and useful branches of science and art, are laid open to all who 
choose to avail themselves of the opportunity of enjoying the 
pleasures of knowledge, or of cultivating a taste for reading. 
The future effects of this liberal addition to the means of self- 
education, among all classes of the people, it would be difficult 
to calculate : they can be measured by no standard of ordinary 
computation : they extend to all the vai'ieties of mental charac- 
ter, in the youth of our state, — to all the departments of science, 
and art, and literature, — and to all the advantages and honors 
accruing from the progress of our state, in eveiy department of 
its intellectual, moral, and social relations. 

The following eloquent passage from some editorial remarks, 
in the District School Journal, for May, 1846, by Mr. Randall, 
the deputy superintendent of our state schools, eveiy observer 
must feel to be as true as it is pleasing to the mind. 

" We are, we think, fully justified in asserting that at no 
period in our history as a state, have our common schools, col- 
lectively considered, been in a more flourishing condition, than 
at the present time. The vai'ious influences which have been 
brought to bear upon them, during the past five or ten years, and 
which are now widely and extensively felt, have resulted in a 
vastly improved system of intellectual and moral culture, — a 
higher and more enlightened and devoted class of teachers, — 
and a deeper and more profound interest, on the part of parents 
and the community generally. It is impossible for a dispas- 
sionate observer, acquainted with the state of things which ex- 
isted, in these respects, but a few years since, to witness the 
daily exercises of any of these institutions, of the average gi-ade 
of excellence, throughout the state, without being forcibly struck 
with the conti-ast which is exhibited, when a comparison is in- 
stituted between the present and the past. The district school 



648 APPENDIX. 

is no longer the repulsive, dreary, and tedious place of mental 
and bodily tortiu'e, which has furnished the fertile theme of wit 
and sarcasm, to so many of the highest class of minds. Music 
and innocent hilarity ; play-gi*ounds adorned with the choicest 
flowers, and cultivated with the most assiduous care ; walls 
ornamented with the most tasteful and attractive drawings, 
and seats and desks arranged with utmost regard for the 
comfort and convenience of the occupant ; kind, attentive, 
and faithful teachers, and cheerful, obedient, and happy pupils ; 
now meet the eye on every hand : and the work of education 
is everywhere progressing, with a power and a success hitherto 
unknown." 



CONSTITUTION 



STATE OF NEW YORK, 



ADOPTED NOVEMBER 3, 184C.* 



We the people of the State 
of New York, grateful to Al- 
mighty God for our Free- 
dom, ia order to secure its 
blessings, do establish this 
Constitution. 

Article I. 

Section 1. No member of this 
State shall be disfranchised, or 
deprived of any of the rights or 
privileges, secured to any citizen 
thereof, unless by the law of the 
land, or the judgment of his peers. 

Section 2. The trial by jury, m 
all cases in which it has been 
heretofore used, shall remain in- 
violate forever. But a jury trial 
may be waived by the parties in 
all civil cases, in the manner to be 
prescribed by law. 

Section 3. The free exercise 
and enjoyment of reUgious pro- 
fession and worship, without dis- 
crimination or jireference, shall 
forever be allowed hi this Slate to 
all mankind ; and no person shall 
be rendered incompetent to be a 
■witness on account of his opinions 
on matters of religious belief; but 



the liberty of conscience hereby 
secured shall not be so construed 
as to excuse acts of licentiousness, 
or justify practices inconsistent 
with the peace or safety of this 
State. 

Section 4. The privilege of the 
writ oi habeas corpus shall not be 
suspended, unless when, in cases 
of rebellion or invasion, the public 
safety may require its suspension. 

Section 5. Excessive bail shall 
not be required, nor excessive 
fines imposed ; nor shall cruel and 
unusual punishments be inflicted, 
nor shall witnesses be unreason- 
ably detained. 

Section 6. No person shall be 
held to answer for a capital or 
otherwise infamous crime, (ex- 
cept in cases of impeachment, 
and in cases of militia when in 
actual service ; and the land and 
naval forces in time of war, or 
which this State may keep with 
the consent of Congress in time 
of peace ; and in cases of petit 
larceny, under the regidation of 
the Legislature,) unless on pre- 
sentment or indictment of a grand 
juiy ; and in any tiial in any court 



* Our intention, originally, was, to give an account of the successive modifications 
of the state constitution. On farther reflection, however, it seemed preferable to 
present the document itself, as an appropriate appendage to the historical part of 
the volume. 

E E 



650 



APPENDIX. 



whatever, the party accused shall 
be allowed to appear and defend 
in person and with counsel, as in 
civil actions. No person shall be 
subject to be twice put iu jeopardy 
for the same offence ; nor shall he 
be comiselled in any criminal case, 
to be a witness against himself; 
nor be deprived of life, liberty or 
property without the process of 
law; nor shall private property 
be taken for public use without 
just compensation. 

Section 7. When private prop- 
erty shall be taken for any public 
use, the compensation to be made 
therefor, when such compensation 
is not made by the State, shall be 
ascertained by a juiy, or by not 
less than three commissioners ap- 
pointed by a court of record, as 
shall be prescribed by law. Pri- 
vate roads may be opened in the 
manner to be prescribed by law ; 
but in every case the necessity of 
the road, and the amount of all 
damage to be sustained by the 
opening thereof, shall be first de- 
termined by a jmy of freeholders, 
and such amount, together with 
the expenses of the proceeding, 
shall be paid by the person to be 
benefitted. 

Section 8. Every citizen may 
freely speak, write and publish 
his sentiments on all subjects, be- 
ing responsible for the abuse of 
that right ; and no law shall be 
passed to restrain or abridge the 
liberty of speech or of the press. 
In all criminal prosecutions or in- 
dictments for libels, the truth may 
be given in evidence to the jury ; 
and if it shall appear to the jury 
that the matter charged as libel- 
lous is true, and was published 
with good motives and for justifi- 
able ends, the party shall be ac- 
quitted ; and the juiy shall have 
the right to determine the law 
and the fact. 

Section 9. The assent of two- 
thirds of the members elected to 
each branch of the Legislature, 



shall be requisite to every bill ap- 
propriating the public moneys or 
property for local or private pur- 
poses. 

Section 10. No law shall be 
passed, abridging the right of the 
people peaceably to assemlple and 
to petition the government, or any 
department thereof, nor shall any 
divorce be granted, otherwise 
than by due judicial proceedings, 
nor shall any lottery hereafter be 
authorized or any sale of lottery 
tickets allowed vdthin this State. 
Section 11. The people of this 
State, in their right of sovereignty, 
are deemed to possess the original 
and ultimate property in and to all 
lands ^vithin the jurisdiction of the 
State ; and all lands the title to 
which shall fail, from a defect of 
heirs, shall revert, or escheat to 
the people. 

Section 12. All feudal tenures 
of every description, with all their 
incidents, are declared to be abol- 
ished, saving however, all rents 
and services certain which at any 
time heretofore have been law- 
fully created or reserved. 

Section 13. AU lands within 
this State are declared to be allo- 
dial, so that, subject only to the 
liability to escheat, the entire and 
absolute property is vested in the 
owners according to the nature of 
their respective estates. 

Section 14. No lease or grant 
of agricultural land, for a longer 
period than twelve years, here- 
after made, in which shall be re- 
served any rent or service of any 
kind, shall be valid. 

Section 15. All fines, quarter 
sales, or other like restraints upon 
alienation reserved in any grant 
of land, hereafter to be made, 
shall be void. 

Section 16. No purchase or con- 
tract for the sale of lands in thig 
State, made since the fourteenth 
day of October, one tliousand 
seven hundred and seventy-five; 
or which may hereafter be made, 



STATE CONSTITUTION. 



651 



of or with the Indians, shall be 
valid, unless made under the 
authority, and with the consent 
of the Legislature. 

Section 17. Such parts of the 
common law, and of the acts of 
the Legislature of the colony of 
New York, as together did form 
the law of the said colony, on the 
nineteenth day of April, one thou- 
sand seven hundred and seventy- 
five, and the resolutions of the 
Congress of the said colony, and 
of the Convention of the State of 
New York, in force ou the twen- 
tieth day of April, one thousand 
seven hundred and seventy -seven, 
which have not since expired, or 
been repealed or altered, and such 
acts of the Legislature of this State 
as are now in force, shall be and 
continue the law of this State, 
subject to such alterations as the 
Legislature shall make concern- 
ing the same. But all such parts 
of the common law, and such of 
the said acts, or parts thereof as 
are repugnant to this Constitu- 
tion, are hereby abrogated ; and 
the Legislature, at its first session 
after the adoption of this Consti- 
tution, shall appoint three com- 
missioners, whose duty it shall be 
to reduce into a written and sys- 
tematic code the whole body of 
the law of this State, or so much 
and such parts thereof as to the 
said commissioners shall seem 
practicable and expedient. And 
the said commissioners shall spe- 
cify such alterations and amend- 
ments therein as they shall deem 
proper, and they shall at all times 
make reports of their proceedings 
to the Legislature, when called 
upon to do so ; and the Legisla- 
ture shall pass laws regulating the 
the tenure of ofiice, the filling of 
vacancies therein, and the com- 
pensation of the said commis- 
sioners; and shall also provide 
for the publication of the said 
code, prior to its being presented 
to the Legislature for adoption. 



Section 18. All grants of land 
within this State, made by the 
King of Great Britain, or persons 
acting under his authority, after 
the fourteenth day of October, 
one thousand seven hundred and 
seventy-five, shall be null and 
void ; but nothing contained in 
this Constitution shall aflect any 
grants of land w^ithin this State, 
made by the authority of the said 
Kmg or his predecessors, or shall 
annul any charters to bodies poli- 
tic and corporate, by him or them 
made, before that day ; or shall 
affect any such grants or charters 
since made by this State, or by 
persons acting under its authority, 
or shall impair the obligation of 
any debts contracted by this State, 
or individuals, or bodies corporate, 
or any other rights of property, or 
any suits, actions, rights of action, 
or other proceedings in courts of 
justice. 

Article II. 

Section 1. Every male citizen 
of the age of twenty-one years, 
who shall have been a citizen for 
ten days, and an inhabitant of this 
State one year next preceding 
any election, and for the last four 
montlis a resident of the county 
where he may oSer his vote, shall 
be entitled to vote at such elec- 
tion, in the election district of 
which he shall at the time be a 
resident, and not elsewhere, for 
all officers that now are or here- 
after may be elective by the 
people ; but such citizen shall 
have been for thirty days next 
preceding the election, a resident 
of the district from which the 
officer is to be chosen for whom 
he offers his vote. But no man 
of color, unless he shall have been 
for three years a citizen of this 
State, and for one year next pre- 
ceding any election shall have 
been seized and possessed of a 
freehold estate of the value pf 
two hundred and fifty dollars, 



652 



APPENDIX. 



over and above all debts and ia- 
cuDibraiices charged thereon, and 
shall have been actually i-ated and 
paid a tax thereon, shall be en- 
titled to voto at such election. 
And no person of color shall be 
subject to dii'ect taxation unless 
he shall be seized and possessed 
of such real estate as aforesaid. 

Section 2. Laws may be passed 
excluding from the right of suff- 
rage all persons who have been 
or may be convicted of bribery, 
of larceny, or of any infamous 
crime ; and for depriving every 
person who shall make, or be- 
come directly or indirectly in- 
terested in any bet or wager de- 
pending upon the result of any 
election, from the right to vote at 
such election. 

Section 3. For the purpose of 
voting, no person shall be deemed 
to have gained or lost a residence, 
by reason of his presence or ab- 
sence, while employed in the ser- 
vice of the United States ; nor 
while engaged in the navigation 
of the waters of this State, or of 
the United States, or of the high 
seas ; nor while a student of any 
seminary of learning ; nor while 
kept at any alms house, or other 
asylum, at public expense; nor 
while confined in any public 
prison. 

Section 4. Laws shall be made 
for ascertaining by proper proofs 
the citizens who shall be entitled 
to the right of suffrage hereby 
established. 

Section 5. All elections by the 
citizens shall be l>y ballot, except 
for such town officers as may by 
law be directed to be otherwise 
chosen. 

Article III. 

Section 1. The legislative power 
of this State shall be vested in a 
Senate and Assembly. 

Section 2. The senate shall con- 
sist of thirty-two members, and 
the Senators shall be chosen for 



two years. The Assembly shall 
consist of one hundred and twenty- 
eight members, who shall be an- 
nually elected. 

Section 3. The State shall be 
divided into thirty-two districts, 
to be called Senate Districts, each 
of which shall choose one Sena- 
tor. The districts shall be num- 
bered from one to thirty-two in- 
clusive. 

District number one (1) shall 
consist of the counties of Suffolk, 
Richmond and Queens. 

District number two (2) shall 
consist of the comitj' of Kings. 

Districts number three (3) 
number four (4) nvxmber five (5) 
and number six (6) shall consist 
of the city and county of New 
York ; and the board of super- 
visors of said city and county 
shall, on or before the first day 
of May one thousand eight hun- 
dred and forty-seven, divide the 
said city and county into the num- 
ber of Senate Districts to which it 
is entitled, as near as may be of 
an equal number of inhabitants, 
excluding aliens and persons of 
color not taxed, and consisting 
of convenient and contiguous ter- 
ritory ; and no Assembly District 
shall be divided in the formation 
of a Senate Disti-ict. The board 
of supervisors, when they shall 
have completed such division, 
shall cause certificates thereof, 
stating the nmnber and boun- 
daries of each district, and the 
population thereof, to be filed in 
the office of the Secretary of State, 
and of the clerk of the said city 
and county. 

District number seven (7)i=ihall 
consist of the counties of West- 
chester, Putnam and Rockland. 

District number eight (8) shall 
consist of the counties of Dutchess 
and Columbia. 

District number nine (9) shall 
consist of the counties of Orange 
and Sullivan. 

District number ten (10) shall 



STATE CONSTITUTION. 



653 



consist of the counties of Ulster 
and Greene. 

District number eleven (11) 
sliall consist of the counties of 
Albany and Schenectady. 

District number twelve (12) 
shall consist of the county of 
Rensselaer. 

District number thirteen (13) 
shall consist of the counties of 
Washington and Saratoga. 

District number fourteen (14) 
shall consist of the counties of 
WaiTen, Essex and Clinton. 

District number fifteen (1.5) 
shall consist of the counties of St. 
Lavk^rence and Franklin. 

District number sixteen (16) 
shall consist of the counties of 
Herkimer, Hamilton, Fulton and 
Montgomery. 

District number seventeen (17) 
shall consist of the comities of 
Schoharie and Dela'ware. 

District number eighteen (18) 
shall consist of the counties of 
Otsego and Chenango. 

District number nineteen (19) 
shall consist of the county of 
Oneida. 

District number twenty (20) 
shall consist of the counties of 
Madison and Oswego. 

District number twenty-one 

(21) shall consist of the counties 
of .Jefferson and Levds. 

District number twenty-two 

(22) shall consist of the county 
of Onondaga. 

District number twenty-three 

(23) shall consist of the counties 
of Cortland, Broome and Tioga. 

District number twenty-four 

(24) shall consist of the counties 
of Cayuga and AVayne. 

District number twenty-live 

(25) shall consist of the counties 
of Tompkins, Seneca and Yates. 

District number twenty -six (2(3) 
shall consist of the counties of 
Steuben and Chemung. 

District number twenty-seven 
(27) shall consist of the county 
of \lonroe. 



District number twenty-eight 

(28) shall consist of the counties 
of Orleans, Genesee and Niagara. 

District number twenty-nine 

(29) shall consist of the counties 
of Ontario and Livingston. 

District number thirty (30) 
shall consist of the counties of 
Allegany and Wyoming. 

District number thirty-one (31) 
shall consist of the county of Erie. 

District number thirty -two (32) 
shall consist of the counties of 
Chautauque and Cattaraugus. 

Section 4. An enumeration of 
the inhabitants of the State shall 
be taken, under the direction of 
the Legislature, in the year one 
thousand eight hundred and fifty- 
five, and at the end of every ten 
years thereafter ; and the said dis- 
tricts shall be so altered by the 
Legislature, at the first session 
after the return of every enume- 
ration, that each Senate district 
shall contain, as nearly as may 
be, an equal number o'f inhabi- 
tants, excluding aliens, and per- 
sons of color not taxed ; and shall 
remain unaltered until the return 
of another enumeration, and shall 
at all times consist of contiguous 
territory ; and no county shall be 
divided in_ the formation of a 
Senate district, except such county 
shall be equitably entitled to two 
or more Senators. 

Section 5. The members of 
Assembly shall be apportioned 
among the several counties of this 
State, by the Legislature, as nearly 
as may be, according to the num- 
ber of their respective inhabitants, 
excluding aliens, and persons of 
color not taxed, and shall be 
chosen by single districts. 

The several boards of super- 
visors in such counties of this 
State, as are now entitled to more 
than one member of Assembly, 
shall assemble on the first Tues- 
day of January next, and divide 
their respective counties into As- 
sembly districts equal to the num- 



654 



APPENDIX. 



ber of members of Assembly to 
which such counties are now 
severally entitled by law, and 
shall cause to be filed in the 
offices of the Secretary of State 
and the clerks of their respective 
counties, a description of sucli 
Assembly districts, specifying the 
number of each district and the 
population thereof, according to 
the last preceding State enume- 
ration, as near as can be ascer- 
tained. Each Assembly distiict 
shall contain, as near as may be, 
an equal number of inhabitants, 
excluding aliens and persons of 
color not taxed, and shall con.sist 
of convenient and contiguous tend- 
tory ; but no town shall be divided 
m the formation of Assembly dis- 
tricts. 

The Legislature, at its first ses- 
sion after the return of eveiy 
eimmeration, shall re-apportion 
the members of Assembly among 
the several counties of this State, 
in manner aforesaid, and the boards 
of supen'isors in such counties as 
may be entitled, under such re- 
apportionment, to more than one 
member, shall assemble at such 
time as the Legislature making 
such re-apportionment shall pre- 
scribe, and divide such counties 
into Assembly disti-icts, in the 
manner herein directed ; and the 
apportionment and districts so to 
be made, shall remain unaltered 
until another enumeration shall 
be taken under the provisions of 
the preceding section. 

Every county heretofore estab- 
lished and separately organized, 
except the county of Hamilton, 
shall always be entitled to one 
member of the Assembly, and no 
new county shall be hereafter 
erected, mdess its popidation 
shall entitle it to a member. 

The county of Hamilton shall 
elect with the county of Fulton, 
until the population of the county 
of Hamilton shall, according to 
the ratio, be entitled to a member. 



Section 6. The members of the 
Legislatiu-e shall receive for their 
services a sum not exceeding 
three dollars a day, irom the com- 
mencement of the session; but 
such pay shall not exceed in the 
aggregate tliree hundred dollars 
for per diem allowance, except 
in proceeding for impeachment. 
The limitation as to the aggi-egate 
compensation shall not take effect 
until the year one thousand eight 
hundred and forty-eight. When 
convened in extra session bj' the 
Governor, they shall receive three 
dollars per day. They shall also 
receive the sum of one dollar for 
every ten miles they shall travel 
in going to and returning from 
their place of meeting on the 
most usual route. The speaker 
of the Assembly shall, in virtue 
of his office, receive an additional 
compensation equal to one-third 
of his per diem allowance as a 
member. 

Section 7. No member of the 
Legislature shall receive any civil 
appointment within this State, or 
to the Senate of the United States, 
from the Governor, the Governor 
and Senate, or from the Legisla- 
ture, during the tenn for which 
he shall have been elected ; and 
all such appointments, and all 
votes given for any such member, 
for any such office or appointment, 
shall be void. 

Section 8. No person being a 
member of Congress, or holding 
any judicial or military office un- 
der the United States, shall hold 
a seat in the Legislature. And if 
any person shall, after his election 
as a member of the Legislature, 
be elected to Congress, or ap- 
pointed to any office, civil or 
military, under the government 
of the United States, his accept- 
ance thereof shall vacate his seat. 

Section 9. The elections of 
Senators and members of Assem- 
bly, pursuant to the provisions of 
this Constitution, shall be held on 



STATE CONSTITUTION. 



655 



the Tuesday succeeding the fii-st 
Monday of November, unless 
otherwise directed by the Legis- 
lature. 

Section 10. A majority of each' 
house shall constitute a quorum to 
do business. Each house shall 
detei-mine the rules of its own 
proceedings, and be the judge of 
the elections, returns and qualifi- 
cations of its own members, shall 
choose its o'wn officers; and the 
Senate shall choose a temporary 
president, when the Lieutenant- 
Governor shall not attend as presi- 
dent, or shall act as Governor. 

Section 11. Each house shall 
keep a journal of its proceedings, 
and publish the same, except 
such parts as may require secrecy. 
The doors of each house shall be 
kept open, except when the pub- 
lic welfare shall require secrecy. 
Neither house shall, without the 
consent of the other, adjourn for 
more than two days. 

Section 12. For any speech or 
debate in either house of the 
Legislature, the members shall 
not be questioned in any other 
place. 

Section 13. Any bill may origi- 
nate in either house of the Legis- 
lature, and all bills passed by one 
house may be amended by the 
other. 

Section 14. The enacting clause 
of all bills shall be " The people 
of the State of New York, repre- 
sented in Senate and Assembly, 
do enact as follows," and no law 
shall be enacted except by bill. 

Section 15. No bill shall be 
passed unless by the assent of a 
majority of all the members 
elected to each branch of the 
Legislature; and the question 
upon the final passage shall be 
taken immediately upon its last 
reading, and the yeas and nays 
entered on the journal. 

Section 16. No private or local 
bill, ^vhicll may be passed by the 
Legislature, sliall embrace more 



than one subject, and that shall 
be expressed in the title. 

Section 17. The Legislature 
may confer upon the boaids of 
supervisors of the several counties 
of the vState, such further powers 
of local legislation and adminis- 
tration, as they shall from time to 
time prescribe. 

Article IV. 

Section 1. The executive power 
shall be vested in a Governor, who 
shall hold his office for two years : 
a Lieutenant Governor shall be 
chosen at the same time, and for 
the same tenii. 

Section 2. No person, except a 
citizen of the United States, shall 
be eligible to the office of Govern- 
or; nor shall any person be eligi- 
ble to that office, who shall not 
have attained the age of thirty 
years, and who shall not have 
been five years next preceding his 
election, a resident within this 
State. 

Section 3. The Governor and 
Lieutenant Governor shall be 
elected at the times and places 
of choosmg members of the As- 
sembly. The persons respectively 
having the highest numbers of 
votes for Governor and Lieutenant 
Governor, shall be elected ; but iu 
case two or more shall have an 
equal and the highest number of 
votes for Governor, or for Lieuten- 
ant Goveraor, the two houses 
of the Legislature, at its next an-' 
nual session, shall, forthwith, by 
joint ballot, choose one of the said 
persons so having an equal and the 
highest number of votes for Gov- 
ernor, or Lieutenant Governor. 

Section 4. The Governor shall 
be commander-in-chief of the mil- 
itary and naval forces of the State. 
He shall have power to convene 
the Legislature (or the Senate on- 
ly) on extraordinary occasions. — 
He shall communicate by message 
to the Legislature, at every ses- 
sion, the condition of the State, 



656 



APPENDIX. 



and recommend such matters to 
them as he shall judge expedient. 
He shall ti-ansact all necessary bu- 
8mess with the officers of govern- 
ment, civil and mihtary. He shall 
expedite all such measures, as may 
be resolved upon by the Legisla- 
tm-e, and shall take care that the 
laws are faithfidly executed. He 
shall, at stated times, receive for 
his sei-vices a compensation to be 
established by law, which shall 
neither be increased nor diminish- 
ed after his election and during Ms 
continuance in office. 

Section 5. The Governor shall 
have the power to grant reprieves, 
commutations and pardons after 
conviction, for all offences excejit 
treason and cases of impeachment, 
upon such conditions, and with 
such restrictions and limitations, 
as he may think proper, subject 
to such regidation as may be pro- 
vided by law relative to the man- 
ner of applying for pardons. Upon 
conviction for treason,he shall have 
power to suspend the execution of 
the sentence, until the case shall 
be reported to the Legislature at 
its next meeting, when the Legis- 
lature shall either pardon, or com- 
mute the sentence, direct the ex- 
ecution of the sentence, or grant a 
further reprieve. He shall annu- 
ally communicate to the Legisla- 
tm-e each case of reprieve, com- 
mutation or pardon granted ; stat- 
ing the name of the convict, the 
crime of which he was convicted, 
the sentence and its date, and the 
date of the commutation, pardon 
or reprieve. 

Section 6. In case of the im- 
peachment of the Governor, or his 
removal from office, death, inabil- 
ity to discharge the powers and 
duties of the said office, resigna- 
tion or absence from the State, 
the powers and duties of the office 
shall devolve upon the Lieutenant- 
Governor for the residue of the 
tenn, or until the disability shall 
cease. But when the Governor 



shall, with the consent of the Le- 
gislature, be out of the State in 
time of w^ar, at the head of a mili- 
tary force thereof, he shall continue 
commander-in-chief of all the mili- 
tary force of the State. 

Section 7. The Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor shall possess the same quali- 
fications of eligibility for office as 
the Governor. He shall be Presi- 
dent of the Senate, but shall only 
have a casting vote therein. If 
during a vacancy of the office of 
Governor* the Lieutenant-Govern- 
or shall be impeached, displaced, 
resign, die, or become incapable 
of performing the duties of his of- 
fice, or be absent from the State, 
the President of the Senate shall 
act as Governor, until the vacancy 
be filled, or the disability shall 
cease. 

Section 8. The Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor shall, while acting as such, 
receive a compensation which 
shall be fixed by law, and which 
shall not be increased or dimin- 
ished during his continuance in 
office. 

Section 9. Eveiy bill which 
shall have passed the Senate and 
Assembly, shall, before it becomes 
a law^, be presented to the Govern- 
or: if he approve, he shall sign it; 
but if not, he shall return it with 
his objections to that house, in 
which it shall have originated ; 
who shall enter the objections at 
large on their journal and proceed 
to reconsider it. If after such re- 
consideration, two-thirds of the 
members present shall agree to 
pass the bill, it shall be sent, to- 
gether with the objections to the 
other house, by which it shall 
likewise be re-considered ; and if 
approved by two-thirds of all the 
members present, it shall become 
a law, notwithstanding the objec- 
tions of the Governor. But in all 
such cases, the votes of both houses 
shall be determined by yeas and 
nays, and the names of the mem- 
bers voting for and against the bill, 



STATE CONSTITUTION. 



657 



shall be entered on the journal of 
each house I'espectively. If any 
bill shall not be returned by the 
Governor within ten days (Sun- 
days excepted) after it shall have 
been presented to him, the same 
shall be a law, in like manner as 
if he had signed it, unless the Le- 
gislatui-e shall, by their adjourn- 
ment, prevent its return ; in which 
case it shall not be a law. 

Article V. 

Section 1. The Secretary of 
State, Comptroller, Treasurer and 
Attorney-General shall be chosen 
at a general election, and shall 
hold their offices for two years. 
Each of the officers in tins Article 
named (except the Speaker of the 
Assembly,) shall at stated times, 
during his continuance in office, 
receive for his services, a com- 
pensation, which shall not be in- 
creased or diminished during the 
term for which he shall have been 
elected ; nor shall he receive, to 
his use, any fees or perquisites of 
office, or other compensation. 

Section 2. A State Engineer and 
Surveyor shall be chosen at a gen- 
eral election, and shall hold his 
office two yeai's, but no person 
shall be elected to said office who 
is not a practical engineer. 

Section 3. Three Canal Com- 
missioners shall be chosen at the 
general election which shall be 
held next after the adoption of 
this Constitution, one of whom 
shall hold his office for one year, 
one for two years, and one for 
three years. The Commissioners 
of the Canal Fund shall meet at 
the Capitol on the first Monday 
of January, next after such elec- 
tion, and determine by lot which 
of said Commissioners shall hold 
his office for one year, which for 
two, and which for three years; 
- and there shall be elected annual- 
ly, thereafter, one Canal Commis- 
sioner, who shall hold his office 
for thi'ce years. 

E E* 



Section 4. Three Inspectors of 
State Pi'ison.s, shall be elected at 
the general election which shall 
be held next after the adoption of 
this Constitution, one of whom 
shall hold his office for one year, 
one for two years, and one for 
three years. The Governor, Se- 
cretary of State, and Comptroller, 
shall meet at the Capitol on the 
first Monday of January next suc- 
ceeding such election, and deter- 
mine by lot which of said Inspect- 
ors shall hold his office for one 
year, which for two, and which 
for three years; and there shall 
be elected annually thereafter one 
Inspector of State Prisons, who 
shall hold his office for three years ; 
said Inspectors shall have the 
charge and superintendence of 
the State Prisons, and shall ap- 
point all the officers thei-ein. All 
vacancies in the office of such In- 
spector shall be filled by the Gov- 
ernor, till the next election. 

Section 5. The Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor, Speaker of the Assembly, 
Secretary of State, Comptroller, 
Treasurer, Attorney-General and 
State Engineer and Surveyor, shall 
be the Commissioners of the Land- 
Office. 

The Lieutenant-Governor, Se- 
cretary of State, Comptroller, 
Treasurei', and Attorney-General, 
shall be the Commissioners of the 
Canal Fund. 

The Canal Board shall consist 
of the Commissioners of the Canal 
Fund, the State Engineer and 
SuVveyor, and the Canal Commis- 
sioners. 

Section 6. The powers and du- 
ties of the respective boards, and 
of the several officers in this Arti- 
cle mentioned, shall be such as 
now are or hereafter may be pre- 
scribed by law. 

Section 7. The Treasurer may 
be suspended from office by the 
Governor, duiing the recess of 
the Legislature, and until tliirty 
days after the commencement of 



658 



APPENDIX. 



the next session of the Legislature, 
whenever it shall appear to him 
that such Treasurer has, in any 
particular, violated his duty. The 
Governor shall appoint a compe- 
tent person to discharge the duties 
of the office, during such suspen- 
sion of tlie Treasurer. 

Section 8. All offices for the 
weighing, gauging, measuring, 
culling or inspecting any mer- 
chandize, produce, manufacture or 
commodity, whatever, are hereby 
abolislaed, and no such office shall 
hereafter be created by law ; but 
nothing in this section contained, 
shall abrogate any office created 
for the pui-pose of protecting the 
public health or the interests of 
the State in its property, revenue, 
tolls, or purchases, or of supplying 
the people with correct standards 
of weights and measures, or shall 
prevent the creation of any office 
for such purposes hereafter. 

Article VI. 
Section 1. The Assembly shall 
have the power of impeachment, 
by the vote of the majority of all 
the members elected. The court 
for the trial of impeachments, shall 
be composed of the President of 
the Senate, the Senators, or a ma- 
jor part of them, and the judges 
of the court of appeals, or the ma- 
jor part of tliem. On the trial of an 
impeachment against the Govern- 
or, the Lieutenant-Governor shall 
not act as a member of the court. 
No judicial officer shall exercise 
his office after he shall have been 
impeached, until he shaU have 
been acquitted. Before the trial 
of an impeachment, the members 
of the court shall take an oath or 
affirmation, truly and impartially 
to try the impeachment according 
to evidence; and no person shall 
be convicted without the concur- 
rence of two-thirds of the mem- 
bers present. .Judgment in cases 
of impeachment shall not extend 
further than to removal from office, 



or removal from office and disqual- 
ification to hold and enjoy any of- 
fice of honor, trust or profit under 
this State ; but the party impeach- 
ed shall be liable to indictment, 
and punishment according to law. 

Section 2. There shall be a 
Court of Appeals, composed of 
eight judges, of whom four shall 
be elected by the electors of the 
State for eight years, and four se- 
lected from the class of Justices 
of the Supreme Court having the 
shortest time to serve. Pi-ovision 
shall be made by law for designa- 
ting one of the number elected, as 
chief judge, and for selecting such 
Justices of the Supreme Court, 
from time to time, and for so clas- 
sifying those elected, that one shall 
be elected every second year. 

Section 3. There shall be a Su- 
preme Court having general juris- 
diction in law and equity. 

Section 4. The State shall be 
divided into eight judicial distiicts, 
of which the cityof New York shall 
be one, the others to be bounded 
by county lines and to be compact 
and equal in population as nearly 
as may be. There shall be four 
Justices of the Supreme Court in 
each district, and as many more in 
the district composed of the city 
of New York, as may from time 
to time be authorized by law, but 
not to exceed in the whole such 
number in proportion to its popu- 
lation, as shall be in conformity 
with the number of such judges in 
the residue of the State in proper 
tion to its population. They shall 
be classified so that one of the jus- 
tices of each district shall go out 
of office at the end of every two 
years. After the expiration of their 
terms under such classification, the 
tenn of their office shall be eight 
years. 

Sections. The Legislature shall 
have the same powers to alter and 
regulate the jurisdiction and pro- 
ceedings in law and equity, as they 
have heretofore possessed. 



STATE CONSTITUTION. 



659 



Section 6. Provision may be 
made by law for designating from 
time to time, one or more of the 
said justices, who is not a judge 
of the court of appeals, to preside 
at the general tenns of the said 
court to be held in the several dis- 
tricts. Any three or more of the 
said justices, of whom one of the 
said justices so designated, shall 
always be one, may hold such gen- 
eral terms. And any one or more 
of the justices may hold special 
terms and circuit courts, and any 
of them may preside in courts of 
oyer and terminer in any county. 

Section 7. The j^ulges of the 
court of appeals and justices of 
the supreme court shall severally 
receive at stated tiines for their 
services, a compensation to be es- 
tablished by laviT, which shall not 
*be increased or diminished during 
their continuance in office. 

Section 8. They shall not hold 
any other office or public ti-ust. 
All votes of either of them, for any 
elective office, (except that of jus- 
tice of the supreme coui't, or judge 
of the court of appeals), given by 
the Legislature or the people, shall 
be void. They shall not exercise 
any power of appointment to pub- 
lic office. Any male citizen of the 
age of twenty-one years, of good 
moral character, and who possesses 
the recpiisite cpialifications of learn- 
ing and ability, shall be entitled to 
admission to practice in all the 
courts of this State. 

Section 9. The classification of 
the justices of the supreme court ; 
the times and place of holding the 
terms of the court of appeals, and 
of the general and special terms 
of the supreme court within the 
several districts, and the circuit 
courts and courts of oyer and ter- 
miner within the several counties 
shall be provided for by law. 

Section 10. The testimony in 
equity cases shall be taken in like 
manner as in cases at law. 

Section 11. Justices of the su- 



preme court and judges of the 
court of appeals, may be removed 
by concurrent resolution of both 
Houses of the Legislature, if two- 
thirds of all the members elected 
to the Assembly and a majority 
of all the members elected to tho 
Senate, concur therein. All jiidi- 
fcial officei's, except those mention- 
ed in this section, and except jus- 
tices of the peace, and judges and 
justices of inferior courts not of 
record may be removed by the 
Senate on the recominendation of 
the Governor ; but no removal 
shall be made by virtue of this 
section, unless the cause thereof 
be entered on the journals, nor 
unless the party complained of, 
shall have been served with a 
copy of the complaint against him, 
and shall have had an opportunity 
of being heard in his defence. On 
the question of removal, the ayes 
and noes shall be entered on the 
journals. 

Section 12. Tho judges of the 
court of appeals shall be elected 
by the electors of the State, and 
the justices of the supreme court 
by the electors of the several judi- 
cial districts, at such times as may 
be prescribed by law. 

Section 13. In case the office of 
any judge of the court of appeals, 
or justice of the supreme court, 
shall become vacant before the 
expiration of the regular term for 
which he was elected, the vacan- 
cy may be filled by appointment 
by the Governor, until it shall be 
supplied at the next general elec- 
tion of judges, when it shall be 
filled by election for the residue 
of the miexpired term. 

Section 14. There shall be elect- 
ed in each of the counties of this 
State, except the city and county 
of New York, one coimty judge, 
who shall hold his office for four 
I years. He shall hold the county 
court, and perform the duties of 
the office of surrogate. The coun- 
I ty coiut shall have such juiisdic- 



660 



APPENDIX. 



tion iu cases arising in justices 
courts, aud in special cases, as the 
Legislature may prescribe ; but 
shall have no original civil juris- 
diction, except in such special 
cases. 

The county judge with two jus- 
tices of the peace to be designated 
according to law, may hold courts 
of sessions, with such criminal ju- 
risdiction as the Legislature shall 
prescribe, and perform such other 
duties as may be required by 
law. 

The county judge shall receive 
an annual salary, to be fixed by 
the board of supervisors, vi'hich 
shall be neither increased nor di- 
minished during his continuance 
in office. The justices of the peace, 
for services in courts of sessions, 
shall be paid a per diem allowance 
out of the county treasury. 

In counties having a population 
exceeding forty thousand, the Le- 
gislature may provide for the elec- 
tion of a separate officer to per- 
form the duties of the office of sur- 
rogate. 

The Legislature may confer 
equity jurisdiction in "special cases 
upon the county judge. 

Inferior local courts, of civil and 
criminaljurisdiction, may be estab- 
lished by the Legislature in cities ; 
and such courts, except for the ci- 
ties of New-York and Butl'alo, shall 
have an uniform organization and 
jurisdiction in such cities. 

Section 15. The Legislature 
may, on application of the board 
of supervisors provide for the elec- 
tion of local officers, not to exceed 
two in any county, to discharge 
the duties of county judge aud of 
surrogate, in cases of their inabili- 
ty or of a vacancy, and to exercise 
such other powers in special cases 
as may be provided by law^. 

Section 16. The Legislature may 
reSrganize the judicial districts at 
the first session after the return of 
every enumeration under this Con- 
stitution, in the maimer provided 



for in the fourth section of this Ar- 
ticle and at no other time ; and 
they may, at such session, increase 
or diminish the number of districts, 
but such increase or diminution 
shall not be more than one district 
at any one time. Each district 
shall have four justices of the Su- 
preme Court; but no diminution 
of the districts shall have the ef- 
fect to remove a judge from office. 

Section 17. The electors of the 
several towns, shall, at their an- 
nual town meeting, and in such 
manner as the Legislature may di- 
rect, elect justices of the peace, 
whose teiTii of office shall be four 
years. In case of an election to 
fill a vacancy occurring before the 
expiration of a full term they shall 
hold for the residue of tlie unex- 
pired term. — Their number and 
classification may be regulated by 
law. Justices of the peace and 
judges or justices of inferior courts 
not of record and their clerks may 
be removed after due notice and 
au opportunity of being heard in 
their defence by such county, city 
or state courts as may be prescrib- 
ed by law, for causes to be assigned 
in the order of removal. 

Section 18. All judicial officers 
of cities and villages, and all such 
judicial officers as may be created 
therein by law, shall be elected at 
such times and in such manner as 
the Legislature may direct. 

Section 19. Clerks of the several 
counties of this State shall be clerks 
of the Supreme Courts, with such 
powers and duties as shall be pre- 
scribed by law. A clerk for the 
Court of Appeals, to be ex-officio 
clerk of the Supreme Court, and 
to keep his office at the seat of 
government, shall be chosen by 
the electors of die State ; he shall 
hold his office for three years, and 
his compensation shall be fixed by 
law and paid out of the public 
Treasury. 

Section 20. No judicial officer, 
except justices of the peace shall 



SI'A'J K COXS'JTlXTiON. 



661 



receive to liis nv.-ii iise, any fees or 
perquisites ot' oilice. 

Sectional. The Legislature may 
aulliovize the judgments decrees 
und decisions of any local inferior 
court of record of original civil 
jurisdiction, established in a city, 
to be removed for review directly 
into the Court of Appeals. 

Section 22. The Legislature shall 
provide for the speedy publication 
of all statute laws, and of such ju- 
dicial decisions as it may deem ex- 
pedient. And all laws and judicial 
decisions shall be free for publica- 
tion by any person. 

Section 23. Tribunals of concil- 
iation may be established, with 
6uch powers and duties as may be 
prescribed by law, but such tri- 
bunals shall have no power to 
render judgment to be obligatoiy 
on the parties, except they volun- 
tarily submit their matters in dif- 
ference and agree to abide the 
judgment, or assent thereto, in 
the presence of such tribunal, in 
such cases as shall be prescribed 
by law. 

Section 24. The Legislature at 
its first session after the adoption 
of this Constitution, shall provide 
for the appointment of three com- 
missioners, whose duty it shall be 
to reN'ise, reform, simplify and 
and abridge the rules and practice, 
pleadings, forms and proceedings 
of the courts of record of this State, 
and to report thereon to the Legis- 
lature, subject to their adoption 
and modification from time to 
time. 

Section 25. The Legislature at 
its first session after the adoption 
of this Constitution, shall provide 
for the organization. of the Court 
of Appeals, and for trausfeiTiiig to 
it the business pending iu the 
Court for the Correction of Errors, 
and for the allowance of writs of 
error and appeals to the Ctjurt of 
Appeals, from the judgments and 
decrees of the present Court of 
Chancery and Supreme Court, and 



of the courts that may be organiz- 
ed under this Constitution. 

Article VIL 

Section 1. After paying the ex- 
penses of collection, superintend- 
ence and ordinary repairs, there 
shall be appropriated and set apart 
in each fiscal year out of the reve- 
nues of the State canals, commenc- 
ing on the first day of June, one 
thousand eight hundred and forty- 
six, the sum of one million and 
three hundred thousand dollars 
until the first day of June, one 
thousand eight hundred and fifty- 
five, and from that time the sum 
of one million and seven hundred 
thousand dollars in each fiscal year, 
as a sinking fund, to pay the inter- 
e.st and redeem the principal of that 
part of the State debt called the 
canal debt, as it existed at the time 
first aforesaid, and including three 
hundred thousand dollars then to 
be borrowed, until tlie same shall 
be wholly paid ; and the principal 
and income of the said sinking fund 
shall be sacredly applied to that 
purpose. 

Section 2. After complying with 
the provisions of the first section 
of this article, there shall be ap- 
propriated and set apart out of 
the siu-jilus revenues of the State 
canals, in each fiscal year, com- 
mencing on the first day of June, 
one thousand eight hundred and 
fortj--six, the sum of three hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars, until 
the time when a sufficient sum 
shaU have been appropriated and 
set apart, under the said first sec- 
tion, to pay the interest and extin- 
guish the entire principal of the 
canal debt ; and after that period, 
then the sum of one million and 
five hundred thousand dollars iu 
each fiscal yeax, as a sinking fund, 
to p^y the interest and redeem 
the principal of that part of the 
State debt called the General 
Fund debt, including the debt for 
loans of the State credit to railroad 



662 



APPENDIX. 



companies which have failed to 
pay the interest thereon, and also 
the contingent debt on State stocks 
loaned to incorporate companies 
which have hitherto jiaid the in- 
terest thereon, whenever and as 
far as any part thereof may be- 
come a charge on the Treasury or 
General Fund, until the same shall 
be wholly paid ; and the principal 
and income of the said last-men- 
tioned sinking fund shall be sacred- 
ly applied to the purpose afore- 
said ; and if the jniyment of any 
part of the moneys to the said sink- 
ing fund shall at any time be de- 
fen-ed, by reason of the priority 
recognized in the first section of 
this article, the sum so deferred, 
with quarterly interest thereon, at 
the then current rate, shall be paid 
to the last mentioned sinking fund, 
as soon as it can be done consist- 
ently with the just rights of the 
creditors holding said canal debt. 

Section 3. After paying the said 
expenses of superintendence and 
repairs of tiae canals, and the sums 
appropriated by the first and sec- 
ond sections of this article, there 
shall be paid out of the sin-plus 
revenues of the panals, to the 
Treasury of the State, on or before 
the thirtieth day of September, in 
each year, for the use and benefit 
of the General Fund, sucli sum, not 
exceeding two hundred thousand 
dollars, as may Ije required to de- 
fray the necessary expenses of the 
State ; and the remainder of the 
revenues of the said canals shall, 
in each fiscal year, be applied, in 
such manner as the Legislature 
shall direct, to the completion of 
the Erie Canal enlargement, and 
the Genesee Valley and Black 
River canals, nntil the said canals 
shall be completed. 

If at any time after the j)eriod 
of eight years from the adoption 
of this Constitution, the i-evcnues 
of the State, imappropriated by 
this article, shall not be sufficient 
to defray the necessary expenses 



of the government, without con- 
tinuing or laying a direct tax, the 
Legislature may, at its discretion, 
supply the deficiency, in whole or 
in part, from the surplus revenues 
of the canals, after complying with 
the provisions of the first two sec- 
tions of this article, for paying the 
interest and extinguishing the prin- 
cipal of the Canal and General 
Fund debt ; but the sum thus ap- 
propriated from the surplus reve- 
nues of the canals shall not exceed 
annually three hundred and fifty 
thousand dollars, including the 
sum of two hundred thousand dol- 
lars, provided for by this section 
for the expenses of the govern- 
ment, until the General Fund 
debt shall be extinguished, or un- 
til the Erie Canal Enlargement 
and Genesee Valley and Black 
River Canals shall be completed, 
and after that debt shall be j)aid, 
or the said canals shall be com- 
pleted, then the sum of six hun- 
dred and seventy-tw^o thousand 
five hundred dollars, or so much 
thereof as shall be necessaiy, may 
be annually appropriated to defray 
the expenses of the government. 

Section 4. The claims of the 
State against any incorporated 
company to pay the interest and 
redeem the principal of the stock 
of the State loaned or advanced to 
such company, shall be fairly en- 
forced, and not released or com- 
promised ; and the moneys arising 
from svich claims shall be set apart 
and applied as part of the sinking 
fund provided in the second sec- 
tion of this article. But the time 
limited for the fulfillment of any 
condition of any release or com- 
promise heretofore made or pro- 
vided for, may be extended by 
law. 

Section 5. If the sinking funds, 
or either of them, provided in this 
article, shall prove insufhcient to 
enable the State, on the credit of 
such fund, to procure the means to 
satisfy the claims of the creditors 



STATE CONSTITUTION. 



663 



of the State as they become paya- 
ble, the Legislature shall, by equit- 
able taxes, so iucfease the revenues 
of the said funds as to make them, 
respectively, sufficient perfectly to 
preserve the public faith. Eveiy 
contribution or advance to the ca- 
nals, or their debt, from any source, 
other than their direct revenues, 
shall, with quarterly interest, at 
the rates then current, be repaid 
mto the Treasury, for the use of 
the State, out of the canal revenues 
as soon as it can be done consistent- 
ly with the just rights of the cred- 
itors holding the said canal debt. 

Section 6. The Legislature shall 
not sell, lease, or otherwise dispose 
of any of the canals of the State ; 
but they shall remain the property 
of the State and under its manage- 
ment, forever. 

Section 7. The Legislature shall 
never sell or dispose of the salt 
springs, belonging to this State. — 
The lauds contiguous thereto and 
which may be necessary and con- 
venient for the use of the salt 
springs, may be sold by authority 
of law and under the direction of 
the commissioners of the land of- 
fice, for the purpose of investing 
the moneys arising therefrom in 
other lauds alike convenient ; but 
by such sale and purchase the ag- 
gregate quantity of these lands 
shall not be diminished. 

Section 8. No moneys shall ever 
be paid out of the Treasury of this 
State, or any of its funds, or any of 
the funds under its management, 
except in pursuance of an appro- 
jjriation by law ; nor unless such 
payment be made within two 
years next after the passage of 
such appropriation act; and every 
such law, making a new appropri- 
ation, or continuing or reviving an 
appropriation, shall distinctly spe- 
cify the sum appropriated, and the 
object to which it is to be applied ; 
and it shall not be sufficient for 
such law to refer to any othorlaw 
to fix such sum. 



Section 9. The credit of the 
State shall not, in any manner, be 
given or loaned to, or in aid of any 
individual association or corpora- 
tion. 

Section 10. The State may, to 
meet casual deficits or failures in 
revenues, or for expenses not pro- 
vided for, contract debts, but such 
debts, direct and contingent, sin- 
gly or in the aggregate, shall not at 
any time, exceed one million of 
dollars; and the moneys arising 
from the loans creating such debts, 
shall be applied to the purpose for 
which they were obtained, or to 
repay the debt so contracted, and 
to no other purpose whatever. 

Section IL In addition to the 
above limited power to contract 
debts, the State may contract debts 
to repel invasion, suppress insur- 
rection, or defend the State in 
war ; but the money arising from 
the conti'actiug of such debts shall 
be applied to the purpose for 
which it was raised, or to repay 
such debts, and to no other pur- 
pose whatever. 

Section 12. Except the debts 
specified in the tenth and eleventh 
sections of this article, no debt shall 
be hereafter contracted by or on 
behalf of this State, unless such 
debt shall be authorized by a law, 
for some single work or object, to 
be distinctly specified therein ; and 
such law shall impose and provide 
for the collection of a direct annual 
tax to pay, and sufficient to pay the 
interest on such debt as it falls 
due, and also to pay and discharge 
the principal of such debt within 
eighteen years from the time of the 
contracting thereof. 

No such law shall take eiFect un- 
til it shall, at a general election, 
have been submitted to the peo- 
ple, and have received a majority 
of all the votes cast for and against 
it, at such election. 

On the final passage of such bill 
in either house of the Legislature, 
the question shall be taken by ayes 



664 



APPEJSDIX. 



and noes, to be daily entered on 
the journals thereof, and shall l)e : 
" Shall this bill pass, and ought the 
same to receive the sanction of the 
people ?" 

The Legislature may at any 
time, after the approval of such 
law by the people, if no debt shall 
have been contracted in piu'suance 
thereof, repeal the same ; and may 
at any time, by law, forbid the con- 
tracting of any further debt or lia- 
bility under such law ; but the tax 
imposed by such act, in proportion 
to the debt and liability which may 
have been contracted, in pursuance 
of such law, shall remain in force 
and be irrepealable, and be annu- 
ally collected, until the proceeds 
thereof shall have made the provi- 
sion herein before specified to pay 
and discharge the interest and prin- 
cipal of such debt and liability. 

The money arising from any loan 
or stock creating such debt or lia- 
bility, shall be applied to the work 
or object sjiecified in the act au- 
thoi-izing such debt or liability, or 
for the repayment of such debt or 
liability, and for no other purpose 
whatever. 

No such law shall be submitted 
to be voted on, within three mouths 
after its passage, or at any general 
election, wheu any other law, or 
any bill, or any amendment to the 
Constitution shall be submitted to 
be voted for or against. 

Section 13. Every law which 
imposes, continues or revives a tax, 
shall distinctly state the tax and 
the object to which it is to be ap- 
plied ; and it shall not be sufficient 
to refer to any other law to fix such 
tax or object. 

Section 1 4. On the final passage, 
in either house of the Legislature, 
of every act which imposes, con- 
tinues, or revives a tax, or creates 
a debt or charge, or makes, con- 
tinues or revives any approjariation 
of public or trust-money or prop- 
erty, or releases, discharges, or 
commutes any claim or demajid 



of the State, the question shall be 
taken by ayes and noes, which 
shall be duly entered on the jour- 
nals, and three fifths of all the 
members elected to either house, 
shall, in all cases, be necessary to 
constitute a quoram therein. 

Article VIIL 

Section 1. Corporations may be 
fonned under general laws ; but 
shall not be created by special 
act, except for municipal purposes, 
and m cases where in the judg- 
ment of the Legislature, the ob- 
jects of the corporation cannot be 
attained under general laws. All 
general laws and special acts pass- 
ed pursuant to this section, may be 
altered from time to time or re- 
pealed. 

Section 2. Dues from corpora- 
tions shall be secured by such in- 
dividual liability of the corporators 
and other means as may be pre- 
scribed by la VST. 

Section 3. The term coqiora- 
tions as used in this article, shall 
be construed to include all associ- 
ations and joint-stock companies 
hax-ing any of the powers or pri- 
vileges of corporations not pos- 
sessed by individuals or partner- 
ships. And all corporations shall 
have the right to sue and shall be 
subject to be sued in all courts in 
like cases as natural persons. 

Section 4. The Legislature shall 
have no power to pass any act 
granting any special charter for 
banking purposes; but coi-pora- 
tions or associations may be form- 
ed for such purposes und.er general 
laws. 

Section 5. The Legislatui-e shall 
have no power to pass any law 
sanctioning in any manner, direct- 
ly or indirectly, the suspension of 
specie payments, by any person, 
association or corporation issuing 
bank notes of any description. 

Section 6. The Legislature shall 
provide by law for the registiy of 
all bills or notes, issued or put in 



STATE CO.N'STITUTION. 



665 



circulation as money, and shall re- 
quire ample security for the re- 
demption of the same in specie. 

Section 7. The stockholders in 
every corporation and joint-stock 
association for banking purposes, 
issuing bank notes or any kind of 
papercredits to circidate as money, 
after the first day of January, one 
thousand eiglit hundred and fifty, 
shall be individually responsible 
to the amount of their respective 
share or shares of stock in any such 
corporation or association, for all its 
debts and liabilities of every kind, 
contracted after the said first day 
of January, one thousand eight 
hundred and fifty. 

Section 8. In case of the insolv- 
ency of any bank or banking asso- 
ciation, the bill-holders thereof 
shall be entitled to preference in 
payment, over all other creditors 
of such bank or association. 

Section 9. It shall be the duty 
of the Legislature to jirovide for 
the organization of cities and in- 
corporated villages, and to restrict 
their pow^er of taxation, assess- 
ment, borro\ving money, contract- 
ing debts and loaning then- credit, 
so as to prevent abuses in assess- 
ments, and in contracting debt by 
such municipal corporations. 

Article IX. 

Section 1. The capital of the 
Common School Fund ; the capital 
of the Literature Fund, and the 
capital of the United States Depo- 
site Fund, shall be respectively 
preserved inviolate. The revenue 
of the said Common School Fund 
shall be applied to the support of 
common schools ; the revenues of 
the said Literature Fimd shall be 
applied to the support of acade- 
mies, and the sum of tv^renty-five 
thousand dollars of the revenues 
of the United States Deposite Fund 
shall each year be appropriated to 
and made a part of the capital of 
the said Common School Fund. 



Article X. 

Section 1. Sheriff's, clerks of 
counties, including the register 
and clerk of the city and county 
of New York, coi-oners, and dis- 
trict attorneys, shall be chosen, 
by the electors of the respective 
counties, once in eveiy three 
years, and as often as vacancies 
shall happen. Sheriffs shall hold 
no other office, and be ineligible 
for the next three years after the 
termination of their offices. They 
may be required by law, to renew 
their security, fi-om time to time, 
and in default of giving such new- 
security, their offices shall be 
deemed vacant. But the county 
shall never be made responsible 
for the acts of the sheriff. 

The Governor may remove any 
officer, in this section mentioned, 
within the term for which he 
shall have been elected; giving 
to such officer a copy of the 
charges against him, and an op- 
portmiity of being heard in his 
defence. 

Section 2. All county officers 
whose election or appointment is 
not provided for, by this Consti- 
tution, shall be elected by the 
electors of the respective coun- 
ties, or appointed by the boards 
of supervisors, or other county 
authorities, as the Legislattu-e 
shall direct. All city, town and 
village officers, whose election or 
appointment is not provided for 
by this Constitution, shall be 
elected by the electors, of such 
cities, towns and villages, or of 
some division thereof, or ap- 
pointed by such authorities there- 
of, as the Legislature shall desig- 
nate for that purpose. All other 
officers whose election or appoint- 
ment is not provided for by this 
Constitution, and all officers whose 
offices may hereafter be created by 
law, shall be elected by the people, 
or appointed, as the Legislature 
may direct. 



666 



APPENDIX. 



Section 3. When the duration 
of any office is not provided by 
this Constitution, it may be de- 
clared by law, and if not so de- 
clared, such office shall be held, 
during the pleasure of the autho- 
rity making the appointment. 

Section 4. The time of electing 
all officers named in this article 
shall be prescribed by law. 

Section 5. The Legislature shall 
provide for filling vacancies in 
office, and in case of elective 
officers, no person appointed to 
fill a vacancy shall hold his office 
by virtue of such appointment 
longer than the commencement 
of the political year next succeed- 
ing the first annual election after 
the happening of the vacancy. 

Section 6. The political year 
and legislative term, shall begin 
on the first day of January; and 
the Legislature shall every year 
assemble on the first Tuesday in 
January, unless a different day 
shall be appointed by law. 

Section 7. Provision shall be 
made by law for the removal for 
misconduct or malversation in 
office of all officers (except ju- 
dicial) whose powers and duties 
are not local or legislative, and 
who shall be elected at general 
elections, and also for supplying va- 
cancies created by such removal. 

Section 8. The Legislature may 
declare the cases in which any 
office shall be deemed vacant, 
where no provision is made for 
that purpose in this Constitution. 

Article XL 
Section 1. The militia of this 
State, shall at all times hereafter, 
be armed and disciplined, and in 
readiness for service ; but all such 
inhabitants of this State of any 
religious denomination whatever 
as from scruples of conscience may 
be averse to bearing arms, shall 
be excused therefrom, upon such 
conditions as shall be prescribed 
by law. 



Section 2. Militia officers shall 
be chosen, or appointed, as fol- 
lows: — captains, subalterns and 
non-commissioned officers shall be 
chosen by the written votes of the 
members of their respective com- 
panies. Field officers of regiments 
and separate battalions, by the 
written votes of the commissioned 
officers of the respective regiments 
and separate battalions ; brigadier- 
generals and brigade inspectors 
by the field officers of their re- 
spective brigades ; major generals, 
brigadier generals and command- 
ing officers of regiments or sepa- 
rate battalions, shall appoint the 
staiF officers to their respective 
divisions, brigades, regiments or 
separate battalions. 

Section 3. The Governor shall 
nominate, and with the consent 
of the Senate, appoint all major 
generals, and the commissary 
general. The adjutant general 
and other chiefs of staff depart- 
ments, and the aids-de-camp of 
the commander-in-chief shall be 
appointed by the Governor, and 
their commissions shall expire 
with the time for which the . 
Governor shall have been elected. 
The commissary general shall 
hold his office for two years. — 
He shall give security for the 
faithful execution of the duties 
of his office, in such manner and 
amount as shall be prescribed by 
law. 

Section 4. The Legislature shall, 
by law, du-ect the time and man- 
ner of electing militia officers, and 
of certifying their elections to the 
Governor. 

Section 5. The commissioned 
officers of the militia shall be 
commissioned by the Governor; 
and no commissioned officer shall 
be removed from office, unless by 
the Senate on the recommenda- 
tion of the Governor, stating the 
gi-ounds on w^hich such removal 
is recommended, or by the de- 
cision of a court martial, pursuant 



STATE CONSTITUTION. 



6G7 



to law. The pi-esent officers of 
the militia shall hold their com- 
missions subject to removal, as 
before provided. 

Section 6. In case the mode 
of election and appointment of 
mihtia officers hereby directed, 
shall not be found conducive to 
the improvement of the militia, 
the Legislature may abolish the 
same, and provide by law for 
their appointment and removal, 
if two-thirds of the members 
present in each huuse shall concur 
therein. 

Article XII. 

Section 1. Members of the 
Legislature and all officers, 'ex- 
ecutive and judicial, except such 
inferior officers as may be by law 
exempted, shall, before they enter 
on the duties of their respective 
offices, take and subscribe the 
following oath or affirmation : — 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm, 
as the case may be) that I will 
support the Constitution of the 
United States, and the Constitu- 
tion of the State of New York; 
and that I will faithfully discharge 
the duties of the office of 
according to the best of my 
ability." 

And no other oath, declaration, 
or test shall be required as a 
qualification for any office or pub- 
lic trust. 

Article XIII. 

Section 1. Any amendment or 
amendments to this Constitution 
may be proposed in the Senate 
and Assembly ; and if the same 
shall be agreed to by a majority 
of the members elected to each 
of the two houses, such proposed 
amendment or amendments shall 
, be entered on their journals with 
the yeas and nays taken thereon, 
and referred to the Legislature to 
be chosen at the next general 
election of Senators, and sliall be 



published for three months pre- 
vious to the time of making such 
choice, and if in the Legislature so 
next chosen, aforesaid, such pro- 
posed amendment or amend- 
ments, shall be agi-eed to, by a 
majority, of all the members 
elected to each house, then it 
shall be the duty of the Legisla- 
ture to submit such proposed 
amendment or amendments to the 
people, in such manner and at 
such time as the Legislature shall 
prescribe ; and if the people shall 
approve and ratify such amend- 
ment or amendments, by a majo- 
rity of the electors qualified to 
vote for members of the Legisla- 
ture, voting thereon, such amend- 
ment or amendments shall become 
part of the constitution. 

Section 2. At the general elec- 
tion to be held in the year eighteen 
hundred and sixty-six, and in each 
twentieth year thereafter, and also 
at such time as the Legislature 
may by law pro^^de, the question, 
" Shall there be a Convention to 
revise the Constitution, and amend 
the same?" shall be decided by 
the electors qualified to vote for 
members of the Legislature ; and 
in case a majority of the electors 
80 qualified, voting at such elec- 
tion, shall decide in favor of a 
Convention for such purpose, the 
Legislature at its next session, 
shall provide by law for the elec- 
tion of delegates to such Conven- 
tion. 

Article XIV. 

Section L The first election of 
Senators and Members of Assem- 
bly, pursuant to the provisions of 
this Constitution, shall be held on 
the Tuesday succeeding the first 
Monday of November, one thou- 
sand eight hundred and forty- 
seven. 

The Senators and members of 
Assembly who may be in office 
on the first day of January, one 
thousand eight hundi-ed and forty- 



668 



APPENDIX. 



seven, shall hold their offices until 
and including the thirty-first day 
of December following, and no 
longer. 

Section 2. The first election of 
Governor and Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor under this Constitution, shall 
be held on the Tuesday succeed- 
ing the first Monday of November, 
one thousand eight hundred and 
forty-eight ; and the Governor 
and Lieutenant-Governor in office 
when this Constitution shall take 
effect, shall hold their respective 
offices until and including the 
thirty-first day of December of 
that year. 

Section 3. The Secretary of 
State, Comptroller, Treasurer, At- 
torney General, District Attorney, 
Surveyor General, Canal Com- 
missioners, and inspectors of State 
Prisons in office when this Con- 
stitution shall take effect, shall 
hold their respective offices until 
and including the thirty-first day 
of December, one thousand eight 
hundred and forty-seven and no 
longer. 

Section 4. The first election of 
judges and clerk of the Court of 
Appeals, justices of the Supreme 
Court, and county judges, shall 
take place at such time between 
the first Tuesday of April and the 
second Tuesday of June, one thou- 
sand eight hundred and forty- 
seven, as may be prescribed by 
law. The said courts shall re- 
spectively enter upon their duties, 
on the first Monday of July, next 
thereafter ; but the term of office 
of said judges, clerk and justices 
as declared by this Constitution, 
shall be deemed to commence on 
the first day of January, one thou- 
sand eight hundred and forty- 
eight. 

Section 5. On the first Monday 
of July, one thousand eight hun- 
dred and forty-seven, jurisdiction 
of all suits and proceedings then 
pending in the present supreme 
court and court of chancerv, and 



all suits and proceedings origiu- 
ally commenced and then pend- 
ing in any com-t of common pleas, 
(except in the city and county 
of New York), shall become 
vested in the supreme court here- 
by established. Proceedings pend- 
ing in courts of common pleas and 
in suits originally commenced in 
justices courts, shall be trausfened 
to the comity courts provided for 
in this Constitution, in such man- 
ner and forrn and under such 
regulation as shall be provided by 
law. The courts of oyer and ter- 
miner hereby established shall, 
in their respective counties, have 
jurisdiction, on and after the day 
last mentioned, of all indictments 
and proceedings then pending in 
the present courts of oyer <md 
terminer, and also of all indict- 
ments and proceedings then pend- 
ing in the present courts of general 
sessions of the peace, except in 
the city of New York, and except 
in cases of which the coiirts of 
sessions hereby established may 
lawfully take cognisance ; and of 
such indictments and proceedings 
as the courts of sessions hereby 
established shall have jurisdiction 
on and after the day last men- 
tioned. 

Section 6. The chancellor and 
the present supreme court shall, 
respectively, have power to hear 
and determine any of such suits 
and proceedings ready on the first 
Monday of July, one thousand 
eight himdred and forty-seven, for 
hearing or decision, and shall, for 
their services therein, be entitled 
to their present rates of compen- 
sation until the first day of July, 
one thousand eight hundred and 
forty-eight, or until all such suits 
and proceedings shall be sooner 
heard and determined. Masters 
in chanceiy may continue to exei'- 
cise the functions of their office in 
the court of chancery, so long as 
the Chancellor shall continue to 
exercise the functions of his office 



STATE CONSTITUTION. 



669 



under the pi'ovisious of this Cou- 
Btitution. 

And the Supreme Court hereby 
estabhshed, shall also have power 
to hear and detennine such of said 
suits and proceedings as may be 
prescribed by law. 

Section 7. In case any vacancy 
shall occur in the office of chan- 
cellor or justice of the present 
Supreme Court, previously to the 
first day of July, one thousand 
eight hundred and forty-eight the 
Governor may nominate, and by 
and -with the advice and consent 
of the Senate, appoint a proper 
person to fill such vacancy. Any 
judge of the Court of Appeals or 
justice of the Supreme Court, 
elected under this Constitution, 
may receive and hold such ap- 
pointment. 

Section 8. The offices of chan- 
cellor, justice of the existing 
supreme court, circuit judge, vice- 
chancellor, assistant vice-chancel- 
lor, judge of the existing county 
courts of each county, supreme 
court commissioner, master in 
chancery, examiner in chancery, 
and surrogate, (except as herein 
otherwise provided,) are abolished 
from and after the first Monday 
of July, one thousand eight hun- 
dred and forty-seven, (1847.) 

Section 9. The Chancellor, the 
justices of the present Supreme 
Court, and the circuit judges, are 
hereby declared to be severally 
eligible to any office at the first 
election under this Constitution. 

Section 10. Sheriffs, clerks of 
counties, (including the register 
and clerk of the city and county 
of New York) and justices of the 
peace, and coroners, in office, 
when this Constitution shall take 
effect, shall hold their respective 
offices vmtil the expiration of the 



terra for which they were respec- 
tively elected. 

Section 11. Judicial officers in 
office when this Constitution shall 
take effect, may continue to re- 
ceive such fees and perquisites of 
office as are now authorized by 
law, until the first day of July, 
one thousand eight hundred and 
forty-seven, notwithstanding the 
provisions of the twentieth section 
of the sixth article of this Constitu- 
tion. 

Section 12. All local courts estab- 
lished in any city or village, includ- 
ing the Superior Court, Common 
Pleas, Sessions and Surrogate's 
Courts of the city and County of 
New York shall remain, until 
otherwise directed by the Legis- 
lature, with their present powers 
and jurisdictions ; and the judges 
of such courts and any clerks 
thereof in office on the first day 
of January one thousand eight 
himdred and forty-seven, shall 
continue in office until the expira- 
tion of their terms of office, or un- 
til the Legislatm'e shall otherwise 
direct. 

Section 13. This Constitution 
shall be in force from and includ- 
ing the first day of January, one 
thousand eight hundred and forty- 
seven, except as is herein other- 
wise provided. 

Done, In Convention, at the Capi- 
tol, in the City of Albany, the ninth day 
of October in the year one thousand eight 
hundred and forty-six, and of the Inde- 
pendence of the United States of America 
the seventy-tirst. 

In witness whereof, we have hereunto 
subscribed our names. 

JOHN TRACY, President, 
And Delegate from the County of 
Chenango. 



James F. Starbuck, 
H. W. Strono, 
Fr. Seobr, 



Secretaries.* 



* With a view to present an exact copy of the above document, its style of ex- 
pression, even to the punctuation, has been strictly copied ; although the system 
does not coincide with that of the body of our work. 
THE END. 



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